Aliens: Survival of the Beasts
by Native Avenger
Summary: After the events taken place on Fury 161, the entire existence of the Xenomorphs was covered up by Wayland-Yutani. Those few men and women who knew about what truly happened believed that Ellen Ripley destroyed the last of the aliens. Unfortunately, an ocean planet in the farthest reaches of space holds a dark secret.
1. The Beginning

**Kwai kwai nidobak! In case you haven't read my previous stories, that means "hello, friends" in Abenaki. This story takes place between the events of Alien** **3** **and Alien: Resurrection; and the concept of this story has been in my mind for over a year now. Before you start reading, It should be noted that certain Alien movies and games will not be considered canon for this story. Alien vs. Predator (the movie), AvP: Requiem, Prometheus, the 2010 AvP game, and Aliens: Colonial Marines are not a part of my personal canon, as well as this story. The four original Alien movies and Alien: Isolation will be considered canon however. That's all I think I wanted to say. Enjoy the story and remember to leave a review or send me a PM!**

Chapter 1: The Beginning

Exobiology was a very common scientific field in the 22nd century. With more and more planets being discovered and colonized, various extraterrestrial life forms were also being discovered. Almost all of these alien species were microorganisms, but a few planets held minor arthropods and even basic plants. This was a very rare occurrence however, but such organisms fascinated the scientific community. And with these new interests, exobiology became a staple field of research for interplanetary scientists and biologists.

With the study of life beyond Earth, mankind has been able to learn how organisms are able to live on other planets. Scientists had to partake in their research with the added help of biology, geology, chemistry, astronomy, and physics in order to better understand these minor organisms. There were many corporations that relied on these fields of science to better their agendas, but none of them were as prevalent as Wayland-Yutani.

Dr. Boris Sarvez was a Wayland-Yutani exobiologist as well as a businessman when the need arised. He was a middle aged man of African descent and he sported a goatee with a graying buzz cut. He wore the average white lab coat, dress pants and shoes of any other scientist, but he was also wearing a purple buttoned up shirt under his coat.

Doctor Sarvez was sitting at his desk in an isolated office with white walls and a tiled floor. His brown eyes never moved away from his computer as he typed in his personal journal. There was also a window on the opposite end of the room he was in that showed the great expanse of outer space. Even though the stars didn't seem to go anywhere, the space shuttle that the doctor was in was in fact moving.

Boris was tasked with collecting some notable people from some moon a few galaxies away from his usual work station. This didn't bother the scientist however; traveling long distance was all part of his job. It still amazed Doctor Sarvez that the company noticed him of all scientists to aid in their research. Being born on Titan, Saturn's largest moon, didn't often get people noticed by big companies. Companies such as Wayland-Yutani often hired some of the brightest minds from Earth or Mars. He only managed to get himself noticed by the company when he met one of the company's CEOs, who stopped on Titan to refuel his shuttle. At the time, Sarvez was working at a flight hanger and he was one of the men tasked with refueling said shuttle. Seeing the Wayland-Yutani logo on the CEO's sleeve, he introduced himself and talked about his experience with biology, chemistry, and business from college, which interested the CEO.

Ever since then, Boris Sarvez has worked for Wayland-Yutani. For most of his career with them, he's been in charge of helping Earthly organisms adapt to the environment of newly terraformed planets. It may not have been the most exciting job in the world, but it paid well and allowed him to travel all around known space.

Doctor Sarvez stopped typing at that moment and closed the document he was writing in. He let out a small sigh as he leaned back in his chair. A lot of things have changed from the norm recently. Two years ago, he was transferred to another planet and he often had to find people who could help with his new team's research, which was why he was out in the ass end of space.

"Can't wait to step foot on solid ground again." Boris mumbled quietly before he reached down and pulled out a drawer from his metal desk.

The doctor reached a hand into the drawer and pulled out a metal flask. He quickly unscrewed the cap and took a swig of the alcoholic substance inside before he pulled the flask away from his dry lips.

"Brother? How much longer will it take to reach our destination?" he asked suddenly before taking another sip of his drink.

"The estimated time of arrival is thirty two hours, Doctor Sarvez." a robotic male voice spoke out from the nearby loud speaker.

"Wonderful. A whole day of sitting around." Boris commented with grim sarcasm and he rubbed the bridge of his nose.

The shuttle's artificial intelligence didn't reply to this, but it didn't bother Doctor Sarvez. It was only a prototype computer. He didn't see much point in striking up a conversation with a computer anyway. He liked electronics, but not as much as some people. He'd rather speak with the rest of the crew than a machine that couldn't even pretend to have emotions like synthetics could. With a final swig of his drink, Boris screwed the cap back on the flask and placed it into his drawer before closing it. He then stood up and walked towards the exit. He pressed a glowing red button on the wall nearby and the metal door cleanly slid open. It would be a long while before he could get to work, so he figured that he'd do whatever pointless thing he could do to keep himself occupied. With that, he walked out of his office.

* * *

Outer space consisted of a massive black void with various celestial bodies within it. Some of these celestial objects were the various stars that dotted the expanse of space while others were asteroids and planets. One such star was a yellow giant with various planets orbiting around it. One of the planets that orbited this sun was called Osiris D20. The planet was rather large and it had a dark gray surface. Osiris D20 contained no oxygen and various violent storms plagued its surface. It was not habitable for sentient life, if any life at all.

The planet itself wasn't notable, but its moon was. Its satellite, which was named Hades V, was at least partially habitable. The storms on the moon weren't nearly as bad as on Osiris D20, but the air was not breathable. The moon's surface consisted of reddish mountains and rocky terrain, similar to that of Mars. During the day, the climate was extremely hot, but at night, the air became freezing cold and almost unbearable. Despite all of this however, basic life did survive on the moon. Bacteria thrived on this satellite as well as tiny insects that lived below ground, which were introduced when humans first landed on the moon's surface.

The year was 2192 and humans were currently living on Hades V. The moon had a large colony on its surface that was used as a prison for those with life sentences. Murderers, rapists, human traffickers, terrorists, and other such undesirables in this part of the solar system were sent to the prison to live out the rest of their lives.

The large prison was built in the shadow of the moon's largest mountain and the entire installation was surrounded by a massive wall with barbed wire. Watchtowers were also scattered around the prison where militarized guards would make sure that no one would escape. Of course, the moon's climate was unforgivable, so escaping was a rather pointless act to begin with without a ship capable of space travel. And due to the unbreathable atmosphere, the prison had a built-in generator that created breathable oxygen. No one could go outside without a gas mask or respirator because of large amount of carbon dioxide in the air outside the prison. These oxygen generators were crucial to the prison's survival.

Within the prison itself, the walls and floors were made of thick metal and the general color scheme was rather gloomy. Blacks, whites, and shades of gray were the average colors found around the prison. Fluorescent lights brightened up the prison's interior and the expansive building was split into various sections that served different purposes.

Within one of the holding cells section of the building, a small group of male prisoners were being led by armed guards out of their cells. The guards themselves wore black uniforms and they were all armed with either a shotgun or a submachine gun. Each one of them was wearing blank masks with dark visors. The prisoners however, all wore dark blue prison jumpsuits with different numbers printed white on their backs. These prisoners all had their own features; some had light skin, dark skin, long hair, short hair, etc. The rules were pretty lenient about how prisoners could look, so long as they wore their jumpsuits.

One such prisoner had his head shaved bald and his skin was slightly tan, but it was a bit pale too due to the lack of sunlight. His eyes were dark brown and he had an average build for a man in his early thirties. The number on the back of the prisoner's jumpsuit was 052579.

Prisoner 052579 kept his gaze downwards as he was ordered out of his cramped cell. He and the other prisoners in his cell block were escorted by the guards towards the shower block. No one really spoke on the way there because there was nothing to say. Their escorts also kept quiet, but alert. The trip there was mostly uneventful and when they reached the changing room, the guards watched as all the prisoners took off their clothes. The guards technically weren't supposed to watch the prisoners change, but due to recent violent activity, the warden ordered the guards to make sure that no weapons were smuggled into the showers.

When everyone was in the nude, they all silently made their way into the shower room and one of the faceless guards closed the doors behind them. No guards had to be in the showers themselves because various cameras watched the prisoners' every move. If anything were to go wrong, then the guards would charge in within a moment's notice.

The bald prisoner let out a quiet sigh as he walked under one of the showerheads and turned the knob, which activated his shower. The water wasn't warm at all, but it wasn't cold either. He supposed that it could've been worse. Prisoner 052579 slowly closed his eyes as he felt the water drip down his skin and onto the white tiled floor under him. Everyone else had activated their showers as well and they all were silent as they washed themselves.

A small thump was heard as the prisoner next to the bald man dropped his bar of soap, so the other man bent down to pick it up. Prisoner 052579's eyes narrowed as many of the others also dropped their soap and bent down to pick theirs up. Only he and one other prisoner, a muscular blonde man, weren't doing this.

'So, they're really going through with it. Fine.' the bald man thought calmly to himself as his grip lightened on his own bar of soap, causing it to fall to the floor.

Prisoner 052579 gradually crouched down to pick up the bar of soap, but instead of grabbing the soup, he reached his hand around the pipe that led to the showerhead. After some fondling around, he felt his hand touch a metal shiv he hid in the shower a few days ago. He gripped the blade's makeshift handle before he slowly stood up again while water continued to drip down his naked body. Just as he rose, most of the other prisoners picked up various shivs and small metal pipes. Almost robotically, everyone turned around to look at the blonde man, who hadn't noticed everyone arming themselves.

The bald prisoner sighed once more as he rubbed the back of his neck with his freehand and he watched as a dark skinned prisoner tapped the blond man's left shoulder. The blonde prisoner turned around to look at the man who got his attention, but his blue eyes widened when he saw the makeshift knife the other man was holding. Before the blonde man could say anything, Prisoner 052579 rushed forward and stabbed the man's lower back, causing the stab victim to cry out in pain. His screaming only increased in volume when the dark skinned prisoner stabbed his lower belly.

The other prisoners acted immediately after that. They all raised their weapons and took turns stabbing and bludgeoning the blonde man. Some of them yelled profanities and other insults at him as they brought him to the ground with their constant onslaught.

"Die, you bastard!"

"See you in hell, motherfucker!"

"Bitch!"

Those were some of the comments the prisoners yelled as they savagely beat and stabbed the poor man. The blonde man was covered in blood and bruises as he lay on the tiled floor and all the water was stained red as it made its way down the drains within the room. A loud crash was heard as the room's double doors were kicked open and the masked guards charged in with their weapons drawn.

The majority of the prisoners stopped their onslaught, including Prisoner 052579, but some of the others kept attacking the blonde man's now dead body. As the guards tackled the attackers to the ground and forced the prisoners out of the shower, the red water continued to flow into the drains.

* * *

Prisoner 052579 remained silent as the security recording was paused just as he and many of the other prisoners were taken out of the shower room. He was currently sitting in an office room with his hands cuffed behind his back. He was wearing his blue jumpsuit again and he had dried off since the incident in the shower. The room he was now in was the warden's office, who was sitting calmly behind his desk. The warden was an older man with a receding hairline and a brown mustache. There were also two armed guards standing by the office's doorway, each holding pump action shotguns.

The warden was silent as he rewinded the video and paused it again. He paused it at the moment where the bald prisoner stabbed the blonde haired man's back. The warden then set down his remote and glared at the man on the other side of his desk.

"I hope you know that your actions killed this man." the warden stated calmly, yet sternly.

"He would have been killed even without my contribution." Prisoner 052579 stated just as calmly and his dark brown eyes traveled up to meet the warden's bluish gray ones.

"That doesn't matter, Linwood. You participated in the killing. Hell, you were the first to attack. You don't usually get yourself into trouble. What provoked this?" the warden asked, revealing the bald man's name.

"That man was a child rapist. A baby fucker. He didn't deserve to live." Linwood stated simply as he leaned back in his seat, making it creak.

"And do you think you deserve to live after murdering your ex and her boyfriend?" the older man shot back with a glare.

"Maybe not, but your justice system keeps me alive." prisoner 052579 commented and he leaned forward again. "I am here to stay for life. This place is horrible with terrible food, terrible people, and you fuckers keep me caged up on some rock like unwanted trash. I was making real scientific discoveries on the outside before I was forced here. Do you expect me to happily spend the rest of my life here with a smile on my face?" he asked harshly.

"I expect you not to go around committing unwarranted vigilantism!" the warden replied with a raised voice.

There was a moment of silence between them as the older man rested his elbows on his desk and rubbed his temples. The bald man stayed silent as he watched the other man slowly reach into his pocket and took out a small box of cigarettes before taking one out. He then placed the yellow end of the cigarette into his mouth and lit the other end with a zippo lighter.

"Linwood, if these conditions were normal, then I'd have you spend a month in solitary confinement, but things aren't normal right now." the warden stated as he took out a file from his drawer and set it on the desk.

"What do you mean?" the prisoner asked with a raised eyebrow as he looked down at the file, which had the Wayland-Yutani logo on the cover.

"What I mean is that you're being transferred tomorrow. First thing in the morning. Some eggheads on the other end of the universe need some test subjects for some biological studies. You and twenty three other inmates are being transferred to their facility." the warden explained calmly while he opened up the document to a page that had a picture of Linwood's face on it, as well as various personal information.

"Excuse me? You can't just transfer me to some other place without my consent. That's illegal!" the bald man stated angrily with a hard glare and his hands clenched into fists behind his back. "I'm not going anywhere without my lawyer's involvement." he added sternly.

"Your lawyer has been notified about the transfer and everything is already set to go. You're a prisoner who's been sentenced to life. Not only that, but you're in a self-governed system. You're practically my property and I am having you sent away." the older man replied with smugness barely hidden in his voice. "Besides, you just complained that you weren't making scientific progress during your stay here. This transfer will make sure you contribute to science." he added and smiled.

Linwood stayed dead silent as he glared at the warden. None of this was legal; it didn't take a genius to figure that out, but it wasn't like he could do anything about it. No colonial marines or private militaries patrolled or governed the Osiris System, so he couldn't report this to any authorities. He was trapped like a cornered animal.

"Where am I being transferred?" he asked begrudgingly as he slouched in his seat in defeat.

"Some planet called err… Aipaloovik VII." the warden answered after he quickly skimmed the file that was resting on his oak desk. "It's an ocean planet according to this document. And it gets better. Wayland-Yutani has a facility there that studies astrobiology; exobiology to be specific. If I'm not mistaken, you were an exobiologist yourself before your incarceration." he explained and exhaled a small cloud of cigarette smoke.

Prisoner 052579 didn't reply and continued to glare at the older man in front of him. He was glad that he'd finally be leaving this moon so he could go to a place of study in his own field, but he didn't like the reasoning behind his leaving. Something wasn't right about this, but once again, he could do nothing.

"So, you and the other chosen prisoners will be transferred tomorrow morning. Better say your goodbyes now or forever hold your peace." the warden joked dryly.

"Whatever you say, boss." Linwood replied casually with a cold look in his brown eyes.

The older man's eyes narrowed and he quickly stood up before pointing a finger at the prisoner on the other side of the desk.

"Don't think I'm unaware of the slang you prisoners use. Guards, take this piece of shit out of my office and bring him back to his cell." the warden ordered bitterly.

Both armed guards nodded before they walked up to both sides of Linwood and they grabbed his forearms before forcibly lifting him up to his feet. The warden grumbled something under his breath as he sat back down in his chair and watched the prisoner being escorted out of the room. Once they were all gone, he dumped his half-used cigarette in his ashtray and went back to his paperwork.

* * *

The night sky was dark over the prison on Hades V, yet despite it being the middle of the night, the prison was still rather loud with activity. This wasn't unusual however since the night watch were making their rounds. The custodians' massive vacuums and other equipment also made plenty of noise during curfew. Most new prisoners had trouble sleeping because of the constant noise, but the majority of them learned to deal with it.

Linwood was currently laying face up on his bed within his dark cell within B Block. His hands were resting behind his head as he stared up at the gray ceiling. He couldn't stop thinking about what transpired at the warden's office. Instead of being sent to the shoe, like he expected, he ended up discovering that he would be taken against his will to some other system in the universe. And there were rumors going around that other inmates were sent to the warden's office, even prisoners who had nothing to do with the killing in the showers that morning. There was no doubt in his mind that the other prisoners were also informed of the upcoming transfer.

The bald man let out a sigh as he turned over in his bed and closed his eyes to sleep. But no matter how hard he tried, his body just wouldn't let him sleep. He let out a quiet mumble of a curse as he sat up in his bed and swung his legs over the side. He sat there in silence for a few moments, but he felt the unmistakable feeling of being watched. So, he quickly looked outside the bars of his cell. He immediately saw the darkened silhouette of the man who occupied the cell on the other side the hallway from him.

"Having trouble sleeping?" the silhouette spoke with a mixed Boston and Russian accent.

"Yeah…" the bald man confirmed with a nod and his eyes narrowed at the shadowed over man.

Linwood knew who this man speaking to him was, but he couldn't quite remember the guy's name at the moment. All he could recall was that this man was a scientist from Earth who studied gene splicing. He didn't know why this biologist was imprisoned here of all places, but he heard plenty of colorful rumors about that subject. This scientist didn't speak to Linwood very much, so he found it strange that they were speaking now.

"I've heard about what you did at the showers this morning. Quite the messy deed, but I doubt a spot of murder is what's troubling you. No, I bet it has something to do with your transfer to Aipaloovik VII." the shadowed figure spoke calmly and Linwood could practically feel the other man's grin bearing down on him.

"How did you know about my transfer?" Linwood demanded as he stood up and approached his cells bars.

The silhouetted man let out a small chuckle before he mimicked Linwood's actions and stepped into the light. This man wore a dark blue jumpsuit, just like all the other prisoners. He was a tall man with an average build that sported a handsome face for an older gentleman. Unlike Linwood, this man had a full head of short, black hair. He also had piercing green eyes that seemed to be writhing with knowledge and wisdom, yet no emotion.

"I have been scheduled to be transferred too." the good-looking man answered smoothly with a wolfish grin.

The bald man was a little surprised to hear this, but he was also a little relieved that he wouldn't be alone with this. Having someone so close being transferred with him comforted him a little, but he didn't like the other inmate's expression. He made a mental note to keep an eye on this man.

"Um, forgive me for asking, but what is your name?" Linwood asked awkwardly as he lightly grabbed one of his cell's bars.

"Aaron Makov. Pleased to meet you." the other man answered with a slight bow. "You really should get some sleep though. We have a big day tomorrow." he stated.

Not another word was spoken and Aaron went back into the shadows of his cell to rest. Linwood stared at the other man's cell before he backed away from the cell bars and sat down on his cot. He didn't even get the chance to introduce his name. Whether Aaron already knew his name or simply didn't care wasn't clear, but the fact that they were both chosen to be transferred was intriguing. Why were they of all people chosen to be sent to Aipaloovik VII? Who else were chosen?

The bald man let out a quiet sigh and laid down on his cot, just like he had before. There was no telling what would happen during the transfer, but he wouldn't get his answers until it happened. So, he closed his brown eyes and did his best to clear his head despite the constant noises emitting from around the prison. Over time though, he finally managed to fall into a dreamless sleep.


	2. Conveyance

**Kwai kwai everyone! I'm glad that this story is already gaining support from you readers. Thank you for the reviews and simply taking the time to read the story. I hope you all like this chapter. Remember to leave a review or send me a PM!**

Chapter 2: Conveyance

Life on Hades V was rather difficult because of its unbreathable atmosphere and its extreme differences in temperature throughout the day. The maximum security prison that was on the moon's surface was currently on the sunlit side of the moon. This meant that if anyone were to go outside, then they'd be exposed to blistering heat and the sun's radiation. The radiation wouldn't be enough to kill someone, especially with the hospital staff stationed in the prison, but it would be very uncomfortable and mildly dangerous to go outside without proper protection.

A manmade ship could be seen approaching the planet. It had dark gray metal plating to cover and protect the ship's innards and the vehicle was in the shape of rounded triangle. On the right side of the ship, "USCSS NINA" was written in yellow letters, which was the name of the vehicle. The shuttle looked like it was built to carry a large number of people and it was heading straight for the moon.

As the Nina entered Hades V's atmosphere, the ship began to slowly turn its frame to accommodate for the moon's gravitational pull. As the ship slowly descended towards the prison, three landing gears slid out from the bottom of the vessel. There was a landing platform with blinking yellow lights around it on the north most part of the prison's roof. The USCSS Nina slowly descended above the prison building and landed on the platform with a thud. As soon as the ship was grounded, the entire metal platform began to slowly slide down and into the prison. The platform lowered itself into a large landing hanger with a few other USCSS vehicles inside of it. The roof above the Nina slid closed once it was fully in the building and pressurized oxygen was released into the room, which emitted a loud hissing noise.

Once the oxygen within the hanger bay stabilized, a group of armed guards and prison staff entered the room. As they entered the room, a portion of the bottom of Nina lowered, revealing a ramp. Once the ramp was fully lowered, Dr. Boris Sarvez, along with a few men in white jump suits, exited the vehicle. The dark skinned man smiled politely as the warden approached them and he held his hand out to the older looking man.

"Dr. Sarvez. It's good to meet you." the warden greeted and they both shook hands.

The doctor had to resist cringing when he smelled the scent of tobacco in the other man's breath. He always hated cigarettes and the like. He was able to keep his composure however and he soon pulled his hand away.

"The pleasure is mine. Are the inmates ready for transport?" Boris asked curiously and he looked around the industrial hanger they were in.

"They are being escorted here as we speak. They shouldn't be long." the warden assured and he pulled out a pack of cigarettes. "Want one?" he offered politely.

"I don't smoke." the doctor answered a bit more gruffly than he intended and he had to bite his lower lip to stop himself from saying anything else.

The warden simply shrugged at this and placed the end of one of the cigarettes in his mouth. Dr. Sarvez looked away as the warden lit the cigarette with a lighter and that horrible stench started to make itself known. Boris already wanted to get off this rock. He felt repulsed by the warden's habit and he just wanted to go back to his office on Aipaloovik VII. He just had to be a little patient.

* * *

Within Linwood's cell in B Block of the prison, the bald inmate groaned as he woke from a restless dream. He was awoken from the din of something striking metal and he looked up to see a guard banging the stock of his shotgun against the bars of the cell.

"Get up, prisoner. It's time to go." the faceless guard ordered with a muffled, gruff voice.

"Alright… I'm up." Linwood sighed before he threw the blankets off himself and swung his legs over his cot and planted his feet on the tiled floor.

Inmate 052579 quickly stretched his arms, hearing his bones pop into place, before he slid his feet into his nearby boots. He quickly tied the gray colored boots so they wouldn't fall off before he stood up and approached the bars of his cell. The guard stayed silent and pulled out a keycard. The prisoner watched as the guard slid the card into the lock and the cell door open. Knowing the drill, he held his hands out and the guard handcuffed him. Once cuffed, the guard stepped back and he walked out of the cell and into the hallway.

Linwood's dark brown eyes scanned the hall outside his cell to see a long line of handcuffed inmates being escorted by a large group of armed guards. Taking a quick head count, he was able to count twenty three prisoners, discluding himself. He let out a startled grunt when the guard who woke him up roughly shoved him forward.

"Walk!" the guard barked and pointed the shotgun at the side of the bald man's face.

'Fucker.' the prisoner thought to himself.

Not wanting to start any trouble however, Linwood commenced to walk with the rest of the inmates. He recognized a few of the others' faces, but not many. It didn't take long for him to see Aaron Makov amongst the line of inmates. Wanting to be with a familiar face, he quickly, yet casually, moved past a few of the inmates and approached the man with the black hair.

"Hey." he greeted quietly, hoping he wouldn't attract the guards' attention.

"Good morning, Linwood. Did you sleep well?" Aaron replied with that unique mix of a Russian and Boston accent.

'Well, that answers the question whether he knows my name or not.' Linwood thought silently to himself.

"I guess." Linwood answered; he's slept better, but he supposed that it could have been worse.

"That's good. You know, I have a feeling that this planet we're going to will be interesting. I feel that our journey will be rather… educational." the Russian-American man spoke and he adopted his signature grin that made Linwood uncomfortable.

"Shut up!" one of the nearby guards yelled harshly at the duo.

Both men went silent after that, but Aaron kept smiling that wolfish grin. Now that everyone was silent, the group of twenty four prisoners were led through B Block, and they had to pass a few checkpoints and hallways. The white fluorescent lights shined down on everyone as they walked over the tiled floor and towards the hanger bay. A massive metal door slid open in front of the group after a while, revealing the USCSS Nina, the warden, several guards, and a few unfamiliar men in lab uniforms. Everyone could see the Wayland-Yutani symbols these new men and women were wearing however. Even though the inmates were informed of the company's involvement, they still had no idea why.

'What the hell is this company doing here? What's so interesting about a bunch of convicts?' Prisoner 052579 thought to himself.

As he thought this, he and his fellow prisoners were told to stand side by side to each other. Everyone was looking at the visitors and the ship that would most likely be bringing them to their destination.

"Here you are, Dr. Sarvez. Humanity's finest." the warden spoke dryly before he took a long drag of his cigarette.

Boris ignored the old man's comment and eyed each of the prisoners with his brown eyes. He read each and every one of their files before he arrived. They were all murderers with little connections to the outside universe. They were perfect in their own grimy way, at least for what he had in mind.

"Could you have your guards assist my men? I need them to get these inmates ready for hypersleep." Dr. Sarvez questioned emotionlessly.

"Sure." the warden replied and he waved his freehand towards the Nina. "You heard the man. Bring the prisoners inside!" he called out to the armed men.

Some of the guards nodded and they escorted the prisoners into the ship. A few of the visitors in white suits led everyone down a small hallway within the Nina and with the activation of a keycard, they entered a circular room. The room was lit by white lights and the walls were a light gray color. Within the room, there were twenty four hypersleep capsules, each were unoccupied. Not only that, but on one of the side walls, there were rows of lockers, each with a different name tagged on it.

"This will be where you gentlemen will sleep on the journey to Aipaloovik VII." one of the men in white told the inmates as he approached a console and began typing a few keys.

After the computer spent a moment registering the command, the capsules slowly slid open, revealing the white padding inside the mostly clear capsules.

"Alright everyone. Strip down to your underwear. Your clothes will be returned to you once you wake up. We won't steal them. When you have stripped down, place your belongings in the locker with your name on it." the man at the computer instructed everyone.

"I fucking hate cryosleep." a dark skinned inmate mumbled under his breath, who was the same man who stabbed that child rapist the other day.

"Just do as your told." a masked guard ordered impatiently.

One by one, each of the prisoners' handcuffs were taken off. But now that the handcuffs were off, the guards had their guns pointed at the inmates at all times. Everyone was tense as the inmates began to take off their clothes. A few of the prisoners cracked some vulgar jokes at the guards, but they were either told to shut up or were ignored. When they finished stripping down to their underwear, all of the inmates found their own locker, which had no locks, and they placed their clothes inside.

When the twenty four men were only in their underwear and their clothes were in the lockers, the men in white assigned them certain hypersleep capsules, which they all entered without any struggle, much to the guards' relief. They were half expecting one of the prisoners to start a fight or something; possibly try to hijack the ship. Thankfully, that didn't occur.

"How long will it take to reach this water planet?" a prisoner with an Australian accent asked once he was inside his capsule.

"It'll take two months to reach Aipaloovik VII. It'll only feel like a minute or two though, I promise." the man at the computer assured with a straight face. "Now please, no more questions." he requested.

With a few last key commands, the twenty four hypersleep capsules slowly slid closed, securing the half-naked inmates. The man at the computer nodded to the guards, who silently stepped out of the room. He then typed in a few more commands and a large flat screen on the wall was brought to life. The screen displayed each of the inmates' names and their heartbeat. Within the minute, each of the men in the capsules went still and their eyes closed. Once they were all asleep, the men in white stepped out of the room and the lights within went out. It would be a long journey, so they had to prepare for hypersleep as well. Just like Dr. Sarvez, they all wanted to get back to Aipaloovik VII so they could get back to work.

* * *

During the mid-20th century, a theory was proposed by scientists that galaxies were broken up into three sections. According the theory, two of these sections were simply incapable of supporting life or a habitable planet. The first section, which was closest to the sun, was too hot for life to exist. The second section, that is furthest away from the sun, is too cold. The third and final section, which is known as the circumstellar habitable zone, has the perfect temperature to house liquid water and to support life.

For over a hundred years, it was impossible for astronomers to prove this theory, but when humanity began to travel through space with the intent to colonize other worlds in 2031, this theory was finally proven true. When the company was simply called Wayland Industries, their scientists discovered thousands of planets in this habitable zone. Colonization and terraforming first started with Luna, Earth's moon. However, when Wayland scientists discovered a way to travel faster than light through space, the company began to travel to other planets throughout the known universe.

Aipaloovik VII, which was discovered in the year 2121, was an ocean planet that resided in the center of a blue dwarf star's habitable zone. From a distance, the planet looked like a blue sphere with white clouds dotting the surface. Unlike nearly every other planet discovered by humanity, this one had no visible land and was completely covered by a super ocean. A year after its discovery, Wayland-Yutani had a science facility and colony constructed under the ocean's surface. The purpose of the colony was to research possible life on the planet.

The underwater colony consisted of four extremely tall towers that were connected by dozens of transparent, enclosed bridges. The center tower, Tower C, was in the shape of a tall hexagon while the three other buildings that branched from it were rectangular in shape. The center tower was also the only building that broke the surface of the water, which allowed ships to land. Tower A was the building that was south-west of the center tower, while the lone tower to the east was Tower D.

Within the northwest-most building, thousands of workers were performing their everyday tasks. This building, which was called Tower B, was where most of the colony's basic work took place. There were engineering decks, a massive hospital, hydroponics labs, and other useful sections.

Within the hydroponics labs, there was a room with various fluorescent lights shining down on crops that were lined up on waist-height tables. These plants didn't require soil or natural sunlight in order to grow, thanks to the advancement in technology. The entire room was purely white in color and the only color came from the massive window on the side of the room. This window was so that workers and gardeners could look out at the massive blue ocean outside. And to make the hydroponics labs more welcoming, the audio recordings of birds singing was played over the loudspeakers throughout the hydroponics section to emphasize this.

In the large room with the window and the crops, one of the many lights was out. The glass casing that was covering the long light bulb had been removed and was set on the floor, resting on the table supporting the green plants. A middle aged man was standing on a stepstool while he unscrewed the bulb. He was wearing a light blue jumpsuit with the Wayland-Yutani logo stitched to the suit's left forearm and back. He was also wearing tan colored boots and a white undershirt under the jumpsuit. The man's receding hair was black and messy looking. Some stubble also seemed to be growing in around his jawline and above his lips. Lastly, he had sky blue eyes that gave off a gentle vibe despite his muscular appearance.

It didn't take long for the middle-aged man to unscrew the faulty bulb and he gently placed it on the table with the plants. He then grabbed a new fluorescent bulb and began to screw it in place. He barely paid attention as the nearby door to the rest of the facility slid open and a woman stepped into the room.

"Hey, Michael. I didn't know you'd be fixing our light." the woman commented cheerfully, referring to the man by name.

The black haired man smiled and looked over his shoulder at the woman. Her name was Angela Senior and she was a horticulturalist. Her job was to tend to the plants and crops within the hydroponics labs. Unlike most people, she was born as an albino. Because of this, she had extremely pale skin, pale red eyes, and white hair, which she kept tied back in a ponytail. She was also wearing a white lab coat, matching dress pants, black gloves, and she had a small silver earring on her left ear.

"Hello, Angela. You should know by now that I'll take any chance I can get to see you." Michael greeted calmly. "Mind handing me that casing?" he requested as he pointed at the plane of glass that would cover the bulb.

"Sure." the pale skinned woman answered cheerfully.

Her high heeled shoes clicked against the tiled floor as she approached the glass cover and picked it up with her gloved hands. She then held it up for her friend, who grabbed hold of it.

"Thank you." he said politely and got to work screwing the glass casing to the ceiling so it was protectively over the bulb.

"You're welcome. And thank you for coming here to visit me." Angela replied cheerfully.

Angela's been working on the Aipaloovik VII colony for two years while Malcolm arrived just a year ago. When he first came to the colony, he accidentally bumped into her when he was assigned to fix a leaking pipe in the hydroponics labs. They decided to walk to the leaky pipe together and they soon became friends. Now, they were almost inseparable, which amused some of the other workers.

When Michael had finished fastening the glass covering over the fluorescent bulb, he set his tools down on the table next to him and started to climb down the stepstool at a slow pace. Once he was on the floor again, he turned to look at her with a smile.

"I apologize if I'm keeping you from your work." he commented.

"Oh, don't worry about it. I'm just here to make sure the plants are being watered properly." she answered assuringly.

Right after she said that, the din of the faucets above the tables turning on was heard and room-temperature water began to spray down on the plants. Unfortunately, the water was also spraying on Malcolm's open tool box.

"Your tools!" Angela spoke with a startled voice.

Michael quickly tried to grab his tool box so he could move it away from the flowing water. But in the process of lifting the container, he accidentally dropped some tools on the ground. One of the tools was a screwdriver, which scraped his forearm as it fell to the ground. He didn't even flinch from the wound and he rolled his eyes as he set the tool box down on the floor.

"Are you okay? I'm so sorry!" Angela said apologetically and she too bent down to help him pick up the tools.

"I'm alright. It's nothing serious." Michael assured simply.

Together, the two of them picked up the various tools on the ground and placed them in the toolbox. Once all the tools were inside, the engineer closed the container and the lid clicked into place. At that point, he grabbed the box's handle with his left hand and the two of them stood up.

"Michael, you're bleeding." she informed with some concern in her voice.

The black haired man cocked an eyebrow at this and raised his left arm so he could inspect the wound. There was a small cut on the back of his forearm where the screwdriver cut him. He was indeed bleeding, but his blood wasn't red like most people, his blood was artificially white.

"Don't worry about it, Angela. Unlike you humans, androids can't get infections. I'll tend to this cut as soon as I get back to the engineering deck" Michael said simply and he smiled at her.

"Well, sorry I show concern for you." Angela replied sarcastically, but she couldn't help but smile back.

She always tended to be a worrywart, even back home on Earth. If anyone got even remotely hurt, she tended to overreact. She's never worked with artificial persons outside of the colony before and she was still trying to get used to it. Still, she treated him how she treated any other human, much to his appreciation.

"Sorry again for the cut." the albino woman apologized once more and she rubbed the back of her neck.

"Don't be. It wasn't your fault. I shouldn't have put my toolbox there in the first place." Michael replied and he chuckled lightly, finding her concern amusing.

She scoffed playfully when he laughed and she gave his right arm a playful punch. He tended to have a very serious personality around others, but he was usually very cheerful and friendly around her. She used to find it odd, but now she simply enjoyed his conversations and interactions. She didn't have many friends on Aipaloovik VII, so she was glad that he was around.

"Thanks for visiting me. Don't forget, tonight's movie night." Angela reminded with a cheeky smile.

"I wouldn't miss it for the galaxy. I'll see you tonight, Angela." Michael assured with a small nod.

With that, the synthetic walked out of the lab with his toolbox. Angela watched him leave and the metal door slid shut behind him, leaving her alone with the watering plants. Once he was gone, she walked up to a computer monitor with an onscreen keyboard and began to type a report on how the plants were faring. She would pause every once in a while just to think about what movie she and Michael would watch. She liked to spend time with him and she couldn't wait for her shift to be over.


	3. Rumors

**Kwai kwai nidobak! It's nice to see that this story is gaining some attention. Thank you for the reviews. I hope you all enjoy the chapter. Remember to leave a review or send me a PM!**

Chapter 3: Rumors

Within Aipaloovik VII, the colony's four towers stood tall despite being under the ocean's surface. Towers A, B, and C were all connected to one another via various transparent bridges. Each of the three towers had multiple of these bridges connecting each of them, which allowed the various colonists to easily travel from one tower to the other. Tower D on the other hand, was more secluded. There were only two bridges that connected to this building, and both of which were connected to Tower C, the center tower.

Tower D was mostly a mystery to the rest of the colonists, despite it being the largest building amongst the four towers. Each of the bridges that connected to Tower D had militarized checkpoints. Only those with VIP access or the proper identification could even enter the highly restricted building. Few people besides security officers traveled from tower to tower. This was because all of the high level workers and scientists had their living quarters within Tower D itself, unlike the other colonists.

Within Tower C, a group of three security officers were guarding the door that led to one of the bridges to Tower D. Each of them was armed with a military grade pulse rifle with grenade launcher attachments. They all were wearing the basic uniforms: black bulletproof vests, gray shirts, gray camouflage pants, black boots, and fingerless gloves.

One of these guards, a man with a blonde buzz cut and blue eyes, sighed as he leaned against the door and lazily held his rifle, which had a flashlight screwed onto the barrel near the grenade launcher. His pale body was rather muscular underneath his uniform and a small scar could be seen above his right eyebrow. A name tag was hanging from his vest that had "Lieutenant Adam Johanson" written on it with a small picture of his face next to the text.

To Adam's left, an African American man with the name "Sergeant Joseph Shanza" written on his name tag could be seen. Like his superior, Joseph was muscular and he was leaning against the metal door behind them. His hair was pitch black and mostly shaved off, minus some stubble. He was also wearing a pair of circular glasses over his brown eyes, which helped him see anything nearby. Without his glasses, he had trouble seeing things that were close to him.

The last guard, named "Corporal Nattily Cobalt" was the only woman amongst them and she was standing straight and fully alert, unlike her two partners. She had dirty blonde hair that was tied back into a ponytail and she had dark brown eyes. Unlike the others, who had short sleeved shirts, her shirt was sleeveless and her tattoo of a dreamcatcher was visible on her left forearm. Her skin was also very tan, but not too dark. Due to her tattoo and skin color, it was obvious that she was at least partly of Native American descent; a trait that she was visibly proud of.

The sergeant suddenly let out a sigh as he adjusted his glasses. They've been standing in front of that door for hours. The various workers in Tower C walked past them to get to their work stations, but nothing else happened at that moment.

"You know, we're some of the best guards that this colony has and what do we get to do? Guard duty. At the very least, let us guard in Tower D, like usual." Shanza commented as he combed his fingers through his short, mostly shaved, hair.

"Don't flatter yourself, Shanza. We arrested a few drunkards in the mess hall last week. I don't think that automatically makes us the best." Cobalt commented as she rested her freehand on her hip.

"I know that this job is boring, but we have orders and we're going to follow them. Also, don't talk about Tower D. It upsets the populace." Lieutenant Johanson said sternly with a rather dry sounding voice.

The three of them were given various jobs within the colony and they were able to talk about anything they wanted except Tower D. It was strictly stated in their contracts that they were absolutely prohibited from talking about it outside the building. Doing so could result in termination of their contract as well as possible imprisonment.

"Right, sorry." Sergeant Shanza apologized with a small, bored, sigh.

The three guards went silent after that and they watched the workers and other personnel walk here and there. Johanson noticed someone amongst the crowd however, and he groaned quietly as the man approached them. The man he was not pleased to see was a medical officer from Tower B. The medical officer was a middle aged man with balding gray hair and blue eyes. The man's uniform was fully white, minus the olive green undershirt.

"Watch out. It's Liam Bounland." the lieutenant whispered to his partners, who nodded knowingly.

Bounland, the medical officer in question, had a frown on his wrinkled face as he approached the checkpoint. Even a few of the nearby personnel stopped what they were doing to watch what was about to transpire.

"Good morning, Dr. Bounland." Johanson greeted with a straight face. "I don't suppose you have the proper credentials to enter." he added dryly.

"We shouldn't need credentials to enter." the medical officer spat back with a noticeable British accent.

"Dr. Bounland, please. You know as well as everyone that Tower D is off limits to the general public. Unless you have the proper credentials, we cannot allow you to enter." Cobalt stated with a frown on her own. "We've been over this." she added.

"Then why don't you share with us all why a large part of our home is off limits?" Bounland asked impatiently as the crowd silently watched the scene take place.

"Dr. Bounland… Tower D is a restricted area because everything in there is classified. And the three of us are under contract not to talk about what's in there. We're not going to lose our jobs for you, I'm sorry." Johanson explained emotionlessly despite his rising frustration.

"Oh bollocks to your contract. We have the right to know what-"

"Now listen here, doctor. I didn't spend ten years in the colonial marines to be talked down on by people like you. Now get back to your duties or I will have you arrested for disturbing the peace!" Lieutenant Johanson spoke angrily, gradually getting louder with each sentence.

The medical officer was glaring daggers at the lieutenant as he balled his hands into fists, making his knuckles turn white. He then pointed a shaky finger at the blonde haired man.

"This isn't over. You cannot hide the truth from us forever." he stated harshly.

With that, Doctor Bounland turned on his heels and walked away without another word. A few people stepped aside to make a path for him before they too continued on their way. Once the doctor was gone, Johanson let out a long sigh and rested his head against the metal door behind him.

"I really don't like that man." he commented quietly so that only his two partners could hear.

"I can understand why he'd be curious about Tower D, but damn. You'd think he's out to get us or something considering the way he talks to us." Shanza commented and he adjusted his glasses, which had been sliding down the bridge of his nose.

"Don't worry about him, boys. Our shift here ends in two hours. After that, we can go to the shooting range. Maybe the scientists will let one of us test that prototype gun they have." Corporal Cobalt commented with a smile, wanting to cheer them up, but she still kept her voice low so no one could hear her.

"That'd be nice. From what I heard, that gun kicks ass." Johanson replied as he and the sergeant smiled themselves. "I doubt they'll let us use it though. They still have to give it some last minute modifications before they'll even consider testing." he explained to his partners.

"Well, when that thing is done, I want to use it." Sergeant Shanza replied cheerfully.

The three of them went mostly silent after that. They couldn't wait to go back to Tower D so they could relax. Standing around a door all morning was the worst job they could get here. All they had to do was wait another two hours.

* * *

Three days have passed since the incident with the three security officers and the doctor. Doctor Bounland was known for being a rather grumpy man, so no one paid too much attention to it. However, many people were curious about what exactly went on in Tower D. But since no one wanted to risk losing their jobs, nobody questioned it.

It was about midday on Aipaloovik VII and many of the colony's personnel were on their lunch break. Some people went to their apartments to eat, but it was common practice for workers to go to the mess hall, which had numerous small restaurants that allowed visitors to choose from various different foods. The mess hall was also massive in size to compensate for the large population within the colony.

Michael was sitting alone at a circular table with a tray of chicken sticks and fries in front of him. He wasn't paying any attention to his food though since synthetics didn't require nutrients in order to survive. He ordered food so he could look normal in front of the humans, mostly. But there was also another reason. Still, he paid no attention to his food and he was calmly reading a book with a hard cover.

"Hi, Michael!" a female voice greeted him.

The engineering synthetic looked up just in time to see Angela sit down across from him. She had a tray with some Chinese noodles on it. She was smiling brightly at him and he couldn't help but smile back as he closed his book. He memorized what page he left off on, so he could easily get back to reading later.

"Hello, Angela. Would you like some of my food?" he asked and he slid his tray a little closer to her.

"Yes, thank you." the white haired woman replied with a nod before she used her fork to place some of his chicken onto her tray with her noodles.

This was a daily routine for the two friends. In order to save some money, Angela would buy the smallest portion of food she could and Michael would give her most of his food. He wanted to simply buy her lunch for her, but she didn't like the thought of mooching off of him. So, he simply shared his food. Once she got all his chicken, he pulled his tray towards himself again and lazily ate some of his fries. Even though he didn't need food, his artificial body could still digest it. Besides, he didn't like the thought of wasting food.

"What you reading?" Angela asked curiously, noticing the book next to her friend's hand.

"Oh, this? It's a novel I found dumped in a garbage can the other day. Don't worry, it's not dirty." Michael answered as he picked up the book and handed it to her.

The albino woman raised an eyebrow and reluctantly took the book. Upon looking at the cover, she could see that it had no cover art and only had the name of the book and the author on its dark blue surface.

"Space Beast… by Robert Morse." the horticulturalist read aloud. "Sounds interesting. What's it about?" she asked while she skimmed through the pages.

"It's about an extraterrestrial animal that kills a bunch of people in a prison. The author calls the creature a 'dragon.' I did some research on the author and he's apparently a convict with a life sentence. He was the only survivor of some sort of riot on the planet Fury 161. According to this book, however, a dragon killed everyone and not a bunch of rioters. Because of the fabrications, the book is banned in most places. So if you don't mind, please keep this book's existence a secret until I finish reading it. For being written by a madman, it's interesting." he explained and he took back the novel when she handed it back to him.

"Don't worry. Your secret's safe with me." Angela assured and she found herself smiling again. "Can you imagine what it'd be like if space dragons actually existed though?" she asked with a chuckle.

"I'd hope they'd be more like the dragons in fairytales than the one in this book. The dragon in the book is more like a mix between a dog and an insect, as hard as that is to believe." the engineer replied simply and he noticed her raised eyebrow. "What? I told you the author is a madman." he stated simply.

"Quite the imagination though. Think I could barrow the book from you when you're done?" she requested.

"Of course." Michael nodded.

With that, the two friends continued eating and talking about how their days were going. Nothing eventful really happened to either of them. Michael had to fix a few leaky pipes here and there, and Angela simply had to tend to the plants in hydroponics. After a while, she finished eating her food and he decided to stop eating when she did. There wasn't much left of his fries when she finished.

The two of them smiled as they stood up and disposed of their trays before they left the mess hall. Once outside, they said their goodbyes and went their separate ways. Now that she was alone, Angela started to think about how they became close friends. Even though she was one of the first people Michael befriended, their friendship wasn't really strong until two weeks after they met.

Ever since she was a teenager, Angela has suffered from heart problems. When she was eighteen years old, she suffered from a minor heart attack, but it luckily didn't do any serious damage. While she worked in the colony however, she had a heart attack on the way to the hydroponics labs, which made her fall to the ground and wheeze. Michael, who was on his way to the engineering deck, noticed her on the ground. Abandoning his earlier task, he dropped his toolbox, picked her up bridal style, and carried her to medical. Because he was a synthetic, he was able to run faster than most humans and he quickly made it to the medical deck.

When she made it to the emergency room, her heart actually stopped for a full minute, but with the help of shock therapy, the doctors were able to revive her. Ever since the incident, her heart has been functioning without incident and she's spent nearly all of her free time with Michael. At first, she just wanted to get to know her savior, but now she considered him to be her best friend.

Angela smiled upon thinking of that synthetic. No matter what he said, she'd always feel like she owed him. As she stepped into her elevator with various other people, she couldn't stop picturing his face. She hoped that once she left Aipaloovik VII, they could still be friends and maybe they could go to Earth together. But for now, they both had jobs to do.

* * *

For nearly two months, the USCSS Nina had been drifting through space at a speed that surpassed light. All of the vehicles' lights were off and the shuttle was mostly silent as it made its way through space. Within the ship, the hallways and rooms were almost pitch black from having all the lights turned off.

It was hard to tell in the dark spaceship, but there was a door with the words "Crew Stasis Chamber" written in yellow letters above it. Within the room, there were eight cryostasis capsules along the other end of the room; each of which were side by side. Human men and women could be seen sleeping in the capsules. They all were wearing nothing but underwear and they had various wires taped to their chests and arms, most likely to keep track of their vitals.

Suddenly, the overhead lights within the room turned on, which immediately brightened up the room. When the lights were on, the ship's computer automatically turned up the entire ship's onboard heater so the environment would be more comfortable for the crew. Once the heat was at average temperature, the stasis capsules within the room slowly slid open, exposing the crew to the ship's air for the first time in months.

Dr. Boris Sarvez was amongst the crew in the capsules and he was one of the first to wake up. His face wrinkled as he frowned and he very slowly sat up in his stasis cot. A few of the others did the same a little while afterwards and one of the men let out a few coughs. Still groggy from waking up, the doctor pulled the wires off his chest and arms before he slid his legs over the side of the capsule. He flinched when his bare feet touched the cold floor.

"Everyone have a good sleep?" one of the crew members asked while he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

"Yeah… sleeping's the fun part. Waking up again is a pain in the arse." a British woman answered before she stood up, being the first to do so.

Boris sighed heavily and just shook his head as he looked down at the floor below his feet. Waking up from hypersleep always made him nauseous. No matter how many times he did it, it never got any easier. It upset his stomach just to move too quickly. So very slowly, he stood up while his hand rested on the wall for support. He'd feel better in an hour or so, but he still hated this feeling.

"Should we wake up our guests, sir?" one of the crew members asked, who was slowly putting on a pair of pants, but he nearly fell over in the process.

"No… we'll wake 'em up when we… when we reach the planet." Boris answered quietly, not wanting to talk much in fear of throwing up.

The crew members nodded and most of them went over to the lockers to retrieve their clothes, just like their friend who last spoke did. Very slowly, Dr. Sarvez followed them, but instead of opening his locker, he slowly laid down on the bench with the back of his hand resting on his forehead. The crew knew it was best to let their superior's stomach calm down before they bothered him too much. Last time they rushed him, he ended up vomiting on someone's bare feet.

Hypersleep had that sort of effect on some people. While most people would simply be groggy when they woke up, others got nausea or coughing fits when they woke up. Thankfully, these affects weren't permanent and they almost always passed within the day of the person waking up.

"So, what's gonna happen to the cargo?" one crew member asked between heavy coughs; he was one of the newest members of the crew.

"Don't worry about it." another crew member answered.

"Even we don't know, kid. The company never answers questions like that. Just do your job and you'll get paid." the British woman added simply. "Or you could try asking Dr. Sarvez here, but he may puke in your face just for asking classified information." she added with a smirk.

"Not funny…" Boris groaned softly, trying not to move his mouth too much.

"I agree. It's not fun getting your feet puked on." a Hispanic man in the corner of the room grumbled before he slid a t-shirt on.

This made everyone else chuckle, but they dropped the subject and went back to getting ready for their duties. When everyone else was dressed and just starting to leave, Dr. Sarvez sighed and finally sat up again.

"Brother… how long will it take to reach Aipaloovik VII?" he asked slowly and he raised his balled fist to his mouth, mostly for comfort.

"It will take forty five minutes to reach Aipaloovik VII's atmosphere." the robotic voice of the artificial intelligence answered emotionlessly through the room's loudspeakers.

Boris frowned when he heard this. That wasn't enough time for him to fully get over his nausea. It seemed like he'd have to address the prisoners and the scientists on the colony with an upset stomach. He could already see how his day would play out.

The African American man let out a small sigh before he finally stood up and opened his locker. He quickly looked over his available clothes before he grabbed a pair of gray dress pants. Slowly, he slid his feet through the pant legs before he put on a black belt. Just when he finished putting on the belt, he rushed to the nearest trash bin and vomited into it. He could tell this day was going to be horrible.


	4. Arrival of the Damned

**Kwai kwai everyone! I would like to apologize for waiting so long to post a new chapter. I've been pretty sick lately and some other personal matters have been getting in the way of my righting. But hey, at least I could post a new chapter on Halloween! I hope you all like the new chapter. Remember to leave a review or send me a PM!**

Chapter 4: Arrival of the Damned

It was the middle of the night on Aipaloovik VII when the USCSS Nina arrived. The planet's two moons shined brightly in the night sky as the medium sized shuttle approached a tall landing platform that was far above sea level. The platform had to be this high in the air due to the high and low tides as well as ocean storms. It was a safety precaution. The pilots onboard the Nina had to slowly lower the shuttle onto the platform once the landing gears were down and the vehicle's engines turned off when it was firmly on the landing pad.

Just like the landing platform on Hades V, the entire platform the shuttle was now resting on slowly lowered itself into the building, Tower C. The roof slid closed above the descending shuttle and various lights turned on to brighten the large elevator. The walls surrounding the ship were made of dark metal and there were various pipes all over the place, mostly likely supplying oxygen or other gasses to the facility. Eventually, the platform abruptly stopped and various men stepped into the landing bay, some were carrying assault rifles.

Within the USCSS Nina, Linwood groaned as his brown eyes fluttered open. He slowly looked around to see that his stasis capsule was now open and the fluorescent lights in the room were shining brightly. Not wanting to stress his tense muscles, he gradually raised his hand over his chest and pulled the wires away from his skin. As he began to stand up, he noticed that other prisoners were getting up as well. It felt like mere moments had passed since they were on Hades V, but he knew that a much longer time had passed. He didn't really dream during sleep, even when he was in stasis that lasted for months at a time.

"Rise and shine, inmates. Welcome to Aipaloovik VII. Our own slice of Atlantis." a gruff, male voice spoke up.

All of the half-naked prisoners looked at the room's entrance to see three armed security guards standing at the door. The names Johanson, Shanza, and Cobalt could be seen on their name tags and they each were holding pulse rifles.

"Huh… it's been forever since I saw a woman…" the inmate with the Australian accent commented with a smirk.

"Hit on me and you get a black eye." Corporal Cobalt threatened with a glare.

"Frisky." the inmate chuckled, but he otherwise said nothing.

"Get dressed. All of you." Lieutenant Adam Johanson ordered everyone with a straight face.

One of the inmates quietly cursed under his breath before they all stood up and made their way to their lockers. A few of them coughed every once in a while, but they were ignored. A few inmates started quiet small talk as they got dressed and Corporal Cobalt got more than a few stares, but she would always glare at them whenever they chanced a look.

Linwood sighed quietly as he pulled a white tank top over his head and slid it down his torso. He hated being watched as he changed, but he didn't want to start any incidents with the guards, especially when he didn't know anything about them or what they were like. He was happy that he could at least see their faces, but he still wanted to know exactly why he and the others were here. Still, he doubted that he'd get a straight answer. At least not now.

"Would someone mind telling us why the fuck we're here now?" the dark skinned inmate blurted out suddenly, being the first to get fully dressed.

"You'll know in a few minutes." Johanson answered sternly.

No one else asked anything after that. Once everyone was fully dressed, Shanza stepped forward with a couple dozen handcuffs strapped to his belt. To make sure the inmates wouldn't try anything violent, Johanson and Cobalt aimed down their iron sights at the prisoners. They took the hint and stood still as they were all handcuffed, one at a time. Aaron Makov was the last to be handcuffed and he looked at the dark skinned guard with a wolfish smile.

"If I may ask, sergeant… how long have you worked here?" Aaron asked, which made the glasses-wearing guard raise an eyebrow.

"Why do you care?" he questioned in turn.

"I like to get to know my handlers." the Russian-American answered simply, as if it was obvious.

"Ignore him, sergeant." Lieutenant Johanson stated as he glared at the still smiling inmate.

Sergeant Shanza was a little unnerved by Aaron's answer, but he chose to ignore the prisoner's earlier question. He stepped away from the inmates before he slid his pulse rifle over his shoulder and held it with both hands. Something told him that that man meant trouble.

"Alright, we will escort you to Tower D. You will all walk in a double filed line and if any of you stray away from the others, you will be shot. Now get in line!" the lieutenant barked out.

Immediately, the twenty four inmates formed two lines. Aaron and Linwood were standing next to each other; much to the latter's relief. Once everyone was in line, Lieutenant Johanson led the prisoners out of the room while the Sergeant and Corporal followed behind the crowd. Once they were all outside the USCSS Nina, a large number of guards joined the original three and they helped escort the inmates out of the hanger. Not only that, but Doctor Boris Sarvez exited the ship soon after they did and walked by the lieutenant's side.

This colony was definitely founded by Wayland-Yutani. It seemed like every other object in the hallway they were now in had the Company's logo on it. This colony, even if it was the middle of the night, was much brighter than the prison on Hades V. The walls were a lighter shade of white with some promotional posters and bulletins on the walls. These posters advertised events and even movies.

After they all traveled down the hall for about half a minute of walking, the group approached a large metal door with various armed guards protecting it. The small group of guards nodded at the lieutenant and doctor before they stepped aside and the door quickly slid open.

Linwood's eyes widened in amazement as he and Aaron walked through the open doorway and into the new hallway. The floor around them was grated metal with bright lights underneath. The walls and ceiling were a smooth round shape that formed a single surface. The walls were also completely transparent, which allowed everyone to stare outside at the ocean and the massive building they were approaching. Tower D was like a giant leviathan of metal and the various lit windows reminded the bald prisoner of eyes staring into him, judging him.

Prisoner 052579 and the others knew that the world they were being transferred to was an ocean planet, but they weren't expecting the entire facility to be underwater. As the group walked down the long bridge to Tower D, a school of fish swam over the bridge. Thousands of fish were swimming in perfect sync with each other and the prisoners couldn't help but stare at the surreal organisms. The creatures were covered in red-orange scales and they seemed to be about the size of the average salmon on Earth. They had long bodies, pliable fins, and massive jaws, but no teeth.

"Those aren't from Earth, aren't they?" the African American inmate asked once all of the fish had swam over the bridge.

"No. They are indigenous to this planet. Now keep quiet." one of the guards answered; the guard couldn't help but smirk from the wonder in most of the inmates' eyes.

"Remarkable." Prisoner 052579 murmured under his breath, wishing that he could have a chance to study the life in this planet's ocean.

Everyone went silent at that point and the metal door at the end of the bridge slid open as they approached. On the other side of the doorway, there was a small army of guards waiting for the group. The inmates were all curious by this. Surely, the guards who were escorting them was enough. Once the final guards in the back of the group were through the doorway, the metal door slid shut.

The inmates and guards were in a massive square shaped room with white lights shining down on them all. There was also a large banner with the Wayland-Yutani logo on it on the opposite side of the room. Not only that, but there was a row of chairs, one for each inmate. With some orders from the guards, each of the prisoners sat down.

At that moment, Dr. Sarvez turned to face all the inmates with Lieutenant Johanson by his side. One or two of the inmates raised their eyebrows as they stared at the doctor. Boris wasn't as green faced as he was when he first woke up from hypersleep, but he still a little nauseous. The man had his arms lightly crossed over his chest and his back was slouched lightly, very much unlike how professional he looked on Hades V.

"Alright… I'm sure you're… all curious about what's going to happen now." Doctor Sarvez spoke between long pauses, obviously uncomfortable.

"You are all required to partake in physical examinations. It's per safety protocol, in case any of you are carrying any diseases we should know about. And if any of you have any ailments or other unexpected properties, then you will be detained." Lieutenant Johanson took over, already knowing this speech well enough.

Boris quickly looked over at the lieutenant and nodded lightly in appreciation. He was usually given more time to get over his hypersleep sickness, but it seemed that Brother woke the crew up a little bit later than it usually did. Nevertheless, the doctor was grateful for the former marine's assistance. He pulled out a datapad from his coat's inner pocket at that moment. He opened his mouth to speak, but quickly closed it when he felt a wave of nausea overwhelm him. Feeling pity for his superior, Lieutenant Johanson gently took the datapad and quickly skimmed over it. On the small screen in his hands, there was a list of names, which belonged to all the prisoners in front of them.

"We will go in alphabetical order. Starting with Wilson S. Brown." Adam spoke out and his blue eyes panned over each of the twenty four men.

"Oh fun. This better not involve a fucking prostate exam." the man with the Australian accept stated distastefully as two guards grabbed his shoulders and hoisted him to his feet.

"It's just a physical as well as a blood sample test. Now quit whining." the lieutenant lashed out with a glare, already not liking this man.

The Australian inmate simply rolled his eyes before he was escorted out of the room. Linwood tried to see what was on the other side of the door his fellow inmate was led into, but the door shut before he could get a good look. He let out a soft sigh as he leaned his head back. He knew it would take a while for his name to be called, so he stretched out his legs and rested his handcuffed hands on his lap, content with waiting.

* * *

A full two hours have passed since the inmates were first brought to Aipaloovik VII. Most of the colony weren't even aware of the prisoners' recent arrival or that they would even be coming, but the colony's security force were all aware of the violent arrivals. One by one, the prisoners were given physical exams and a small blood sample was taken from each of them.

Within Tower D, a woman was sitting in her office, looking over the test results that a fellow scientist had just given her. She wasn't alone however; Doctor Sarvez was in the room with her. He was standing behind her and looking over her shoulder at the results. Thankfully, his nausea had passed and he was no longer suffering from ill effects from hypersleep. It was embarrassing enough to address the prisoners during his nauseous state, let alone the scientist he was now with.

The woman sitting at the desk was pale skinned with red hair tied back into a short ponytail. Like the doctor behind her, she was wearing a white lab coat, but she also wore a dark dress pants. Hanging from her left breast pocket, there was a tag on it that read. "Doctor Jenny O'Connell: Head Scientist."

"So, what've we got, doctor?" Boris asked curiously, only able to catch glimpses of the files; most notably, the blood tests.

"Well, I think we finally have a match." she stated as she looked over her shoulder with a smile.

"You're kidding." Doctor Sarvez spoke with wide eyes, obviously taken aback by her answer.

"You know I wouldn't joke about this. Twenty three of the inmates are, as per usual, unfit for the program. One of them has the type of mDNA strand we've been looking for. It's not perfect, but it can at least be altered. We can finally do what we've been preparing for all these years." Doctor O'Connell explained as her red lips peeled back to reveal her toothed grin.

This was truly a miracle. For years, they've been performing simple simulations with the necessary DNA codes, but they've never had a proper subject. This was rather exciting for the two scientists, but they couldn't rush anything, or else they might do something wrong during their procedures.

"So… who's the lucky prisoner?" Boris questioned once he regained his composure.

"His name is… Linwood R. Stevenson. Aged 32, he's White/Native American, and he's a convicted murderer. Let's see… he was born on Earth and he was apparently an exobiologist, just like us. Fate sure has quite the sense of humor." she answered as she read over the man's file.

The man standing behind the head scientist scratched his chin in thought as he searched through his memory. He was trying to recall the inmate's name to see if he recognized it, but his mind came up blank. Stevenson obviously wasn't with Wayland-Yutani, lest he'd have heard of him. It was a possibility that the inmate was with Bionational Corporation, Seegson Corporation, or possibly some independent company. He only skimmed through the prisoners' files a few months ago. He made a mental note to look over Stevenson's file more closely later in his free time.

"What would you have me do with the rest of the inmates?" Doctor Sarvez asked curiously with a raised eyebrow, already having an idea what she was going to say.

"Oh, just have them sent to Chamber A, like usual." Doctor O'Connell answered, obviously having little interest in the others. "And have Mr. Stevenson taken to Lab 6. If he asks anything, just tell him that we suspect that he might have a contagion."she added with the wave of her hand.

Boris nodded to this before he walked around his superior's desk. He thought over what he just heard as he made his way over to the exit. He pressed his hand against the button to the side of the exit and the metal door slid open. Before he exited however, he heard the doctor behind him call his name.

"Doctor Sarvez!" Doctor O'Connell spoke out, which made the African American man stop and look over his shoulder at her. "There is another inmate amongst our guests named Aaron J. Makov. You'll recognize his grin. Keep an eye on him." she ordered with complete seriousness.

Doctor Sarvez raised an eyebrow at this, but nodded once more before he walked out. The door swiftly slid closed behind him and he let out a long sigh before he took a left and commenced to walk down the hall. He knew who Aaron Makov was, but his knowledge of the man was limited. All he knew was that Makov was once a head scientist within Wayland-Yutani, but he didn't know the specifics. He wondered why Dr. O'Connell had him bring the inmate here considering his vast knowledge of the company, but he didn't question it. He just wanted to get his business with the prisoners over with so he could help with the project that Linwood Stevenson would now be a part of.

* * *

Within the large room where the prisoners were being watched, the officers were eyeing the seated prisoners with cautious eyes. They've dealt with these kinds of guests numerous times and they knew better than to let their guards down, even for a second. No one made a sound except for the occasional cough or sigh. Every one of the prisoners had a physical examination taken. A few of the inmates actually tried to resist the doctors and law enforcement, but they were easily subdued; usually with a strike to the back of the head.

Everyone's heads perked up when a set of double doors slid open, revealing Dr. Sarvez. He kept a straight face with his hands in his coat pockets as he entered the room and the doors slid shut behind him with a mechanical hum. He slowly made his way in front of the prisoners and eyed them all with his dark eyes. For a split second, his eyes locked on Linwood and Aaron, but he made sure not to look for two long.

"Mr. Stevenson. It appears that you may have a minor contagion." Boris spoke emotionlessly, earning a confused gaze from the inmate. "It may be just an error in the examinations, but public health is a top priority here. So for the time being, you will be held in a medical lab within this tower." he calmly explained.

"You've got to be kidding me." the bald prisoner murmured with an irritated sigh.

Doctor Sarvez turned his gaze to look at a pair of officers and nodded. After they nodded in turn, the two of them approached Linwood and grabbed hold of his arms. Prisoner 052579 bit his lower lip to stop himself from lashing out at the officers as they helped him to his feet. Everyone silently watched as the three men walked to the set of double doors the doctor entered from.

"I'll join you in a few minutes, Mr. Stevenson. I won't be long." Boris stated simply and he finally slid his hands out of his pockets.

Once Linwood and the two officers were gone, the dark skinned doctor cleared his throat to regain the prisoners' attention. Now it was back to business, as usual.

"The rest of you will follow me and the lieutenant here." he stated as he motioned his hand at Lieutenant Johanson.

"That means get off your asses. C'mon!" the ex-marine ordered sternly.

A few of the inmates mumbled softly to themselves, but they all stood up from their seats. Aaron was still staring at the double doors were Linwood was taken. He held a blank expression as he stared at the door before one of the officers lightly shoved him. Quickly regaining his footing, he realized that the rest of the prisoners were already following Boris and the other officers.

"I apologize for my daydreaming." the Russian-American spoke politely to the officer before he started walking himself.

Aaron and the rest of the inmates were escorted out of the room towards another set of double doors that were opposite from the ones where Linwood was taken to. The group of twenty three inmates were led into a hallway that was very similar to the last few hallways they were in. It had metal walls, grated floors, etc. But this hall, unlike the others, didn't have any promotional posters or even windows.

After taking a few turns, the mass of people approached a white metal door with a hand recognition sensor next to it. Doctor Sarvez calmly approached the sensor and placed his hand on the glass surface. After a moment of waiting, the door opened. The prisoners at the front looked into the room to see that it was much more gloomy looking than the rest of the halls and rooms they've been in. the walls, ceiling, and floor within was made out of dull, gray metal. And there was only a single fluorescent light in the room, which shined down from the center of the ceiling. The room seemed rather large though, so there would be plenty of space for everyone.

"Alright, get inside." Lieutenant Johanson ordered sternly as he, Doctor Sarvez, and a few of the other security officers stepped aside to make room.

A few of the inmates were a little confused and wondered what the room's purpose was, but they did as they were told. Two by two, the inmates walked into the room. The ones with bruises on the backs of their heads realized that disobeying these peoples' orders would not lead to a good time.

Aaron Makov was at the very end of the line of prisoners and he stopped at the room's doorway. His green eyes slowly looked up at the room's ceiling and he let out a small hum as he thought things over. None of the inmates noticed this yet, but the ceiling was dotted with several nozzles, similar to a shower head. Doctor Sarvez's eyes narrowed from this prisoner's hesitance and he instantly recognized the man's face.

"What's the holdup?" Boris asked sharply.

"Those nozzles concern me." Aaron stated simply and he pointed a finger at the other rooms' ceiling to show everyone what he meant.

"Don't worry about those. They're just fire sprinklers in case of an emergency." Corporal Cobalt assured, who was standing next to her lieutenant.

"No, I don't think they are. The nozzles of a sprinkler system usually look like bulbs or have a flower-esk shape to them. Those nozzles however are grated and look like shower heads. If I were to guess, I'd say you were planning on gassing us against our will." the black haired inmate explained his synopsis with a rather calm voice.

"Is this true!?" the dark skinned inmate asked angrily from inside the room and the prisoners started to get very uneased.

Doctor Sarvez had to fight tooth and nail not to glare at the grinning prisoner before him. He was starting to realize why his superior ordered him to be wary about this man.

"We have no intention of gassing you. Now please step inside the fucking room." Boris ordered as his hands clenched into fists.

"Why the hostility, doctor? Surely, if you truly meant us no harm, then your voice and muscles wouldn't be as tense as they are now." Aaron commented as his grin widened, his lips partly separating to reveal his white teeth.

"I want out of here!" the Australian inmate cried out as and the other prisoners began to voice their concerns.

"Alright, that's it." Lieutenant Johanson frowned before he swiftly raised the butt of his rifle and smashed it into the Russian-American man's face with one quick movement.

Aaron grunted as he stumbled back and cupped his hands over his nose. He angrily frowned as he moved his hands away from his face and his eyes narrowed when he saw a little blood in the palms of his hands. He then realized that he, like his fellow inmates, were in the gloomy room.

Taking no chances with the increasingly restless inmates, Boris pressed a button on the side of the scanner and the door quickly slid closed, trapping the prisoners within the room. He let out a heavy sigh as banging was heard on the other side of the door and he looked at the officers.

"Brother. Active the gassing procedure." he stated simply.

"Right away, Doctor Sarvez." a computerized male voice spoke through the loudspeakers inside the hall.

Within the room where the prisoners were being held, a clear, odorless gas began to seep into the room from the nozzles on the ceiling. The various inmates were screaming to be let out as they smashed their fists and palms on the door and walls. As the room filled with the gas however, the twenty three men began to lose their energy. The banging gradually stopped as they fell unconscious on the floor. Aaron Makov was the last one awake and he took short breaths as he looked up at the ceiling. In the corner of the room, he could see a small camera looking down at him and the others.

"Liars… all of you." the green eyed man growled before he fell to the floor and lost consciousness.


	5. Caged

**Kwai kwai nidobak! First of all, I'm sorry it took so long to post this chapter. Some personal matters have been getting in the way of my writing. However, I reread the last four chapters of this story and fixed most, hopefully all, of the typos and grammar errors. I'll try to post more frequently, but I'm still going through said personal matters. As always, remember to leave a review or send me a PM!**

Chapter 5: Caged

Deep under the water's surface of Aipaloovik VII, the expansive ocean was a dark shade of blue. The planet's two moons were one of the only sources of light, but it became harder for the illumination to shine deeper in the ocean. The only other lights that were visible were the dotted lights shining through the windows of the four towers of the planet's colony. These radiances shining through the windows often attracted schools of fish and other sea life towards the colony, which allowed the colonists and other workers to see the wildlife.

Linwood glanced out one of the few windows in the hallway he was in while he walked. He was being escorted by two security officers. One was wielding a pistol while the other held a shotgun. The three men's footsteps echoed lightly as they stepped on the tiled floor and they made their way through the long hall. There were a few metal doors to their left while a few windows dotted the right

There were various organisms swimming outside the hall in the deep ocean. A large school of those large-jawed fish from earlier graciously swam past the window towards an unknown location. There was also something else. If he squinted his eyes, the silhouette of a massive fish-like animal was visible in the distance. It looked like it was the size of a blue whale, if not, bigger. He almost stopped in his tracks to get a better look at it, but the three of them moved past the window before he could.

The inmate was fascinated by the alien fish outside. He had so many questions about this place that he wanted to ask, but he chose to stay quiet. Normally, it was best to put up a tough guy act when in new places. That was Linwood's opinion anyway. To reflect this, he kept his back straight, his shoulder's squared, and didn't speak. He may not have been as buff or strong as some of the other inmates, but he tried to act the part at least. He didn't want anyone here to think that he was weak.

"Stop here." the officer to his left spoke suddenly.

The three men stopped in their tracks at that moment. The man who spoke, who was holding the pistol, approached the closest door to their left and pressed his hand on the scanner attached to the wall. A small beep was heard and the door hummed as it slid open. He then faced the bald inmate and waved his hand towards the now open doorway.

Taking the hint, Linwood stepped into the dark room with the other officer right behind him. The shotgun-wielding officer pressed a button to their light and the lights turned on. The inmate blinked when the room was enlightened and his brown eyes darted around. It was obvious to him that this was some kind of medical room. There was a leather bed for a patient to rest on and a few computers and cabinets along the wall opposite of him. It looked similar to the room he and the other inmates were taken to for their physicals, but something was different about this place. There was a long mirror on the wall to the left that covered nearly the entire wall's surface.

Linwood was distracted from the mirror when the officer with the shotgun slid the weapon over his shoulder and unhooked a key ring from his belt. The inmate stayed stalk still as the taller man unlocked the handcuffs that bound him and he slowly rubbed his sore wrists.

"Lay down, prisoner." the other officer ordered as he entered the room and the first one armed himself with the shotgun once more.

With a small sigh, the bald man approached the medical bed. The surface of the bed was made of black leather and a long, white sheet of thin paper was laid over the bed. Not only that, but there were thick leather cuffs for his arms and legs. He held a straight face as he turned around and sat down. A sigh escaped his lips as he raised his legs over the bed and laid down. Once he was down, the officer who just spoke holstered his pistol and approached the bed.

"What kind of contagion do I have?" Linwood asked flatly as the officer took his right hand and bound it to the bed.

"You don't have one." the man answered emotionlessly and he started with the left hand.

"What do you mean?" the bald inmate demanded, this time with a questionable expression; the whole reason why he was separated from the others in the first place was because he was told he had some form of infection and that it needed to be checked out.

"Just shut up. You're not sick. That's all that matters." spoke the officer with the shotgun.

This angered Linwood and he was tempted to try to kick the other officer away, but now that his hands were firmly restrained, there was nothing he could do even if he did manage to injure or knock out the man. He glared at the two officers for a little while before he looked up at the ceiling. He could feel his ankles being cuffed to the bed too. With his hands restrained to his sides and his feet firmly in place, the two officers left without a word and the door hummed shut behind them.

Everything was silent. It was strange to Linwood. He was used to loud noises throughout the day, yet it was quiet now. He kept staring at the beige ceiling. He found it a little strange that he was allowed to wear his jumpsuit and boots; he expected them to force him to wear a hospital gown or something. He believed that either there really was a mistake somewhere or they'd have him change later. Still, that was the least of his worries right now. Slowly, he turned to look at the mirror that was now to his right and he looked at his own reflection. His once tan skin was now pale from the lack of sunlight and he had dark bags under his eyes, mostly from poor sleep.

"Why am I here?" he asked his own reflection.

Alas, the bald man received no response. He didn't expect one anyway. Hours seemed to go by as he stared at himself in the mirror, but in reality, only ten minutes ticked by. The more he lay in that bed, the more he felt a sense of dread. Something felt wrong about this place. As he waited in silence, the inmate's breathing started to quicken and he could hear his own heartbeat in his chest. He raised his head and looked around the room at that moment as he listened to his heartbeat. He wanted to scream or cry out to anyone who could hear him. Being in this room alone didn't feel right. It felt like something horrible was about to happen, but he didn't fully understand why.

And at that point, a beep was heard. Linwood sharply turned his head towards the door just as it slid open and he could see three people. Two of them were unfamiliar to him; one male and one female. They were both donning white lab suits with surgical masks and black goggles. The man standing between them however was none other than Doctor Sarvez.

"Hello, Mr. Stevenson. I'm sorry for keeping you waiting." Boris said apologetically as he and his two assistants entered the room.

As they entered, the restrained man noticed that the female doctor was pushing a metal table with wheels under the legs into the room. The table had a few small bottles, syringes, and other small utensils on it, including scalpels. Once they were all in the room, the door slid closed.

"I… I think there was a mistake. I'm not sick. I don't have a contagion." Linwood said a little shakily as his brown eyes stared at Boris Sarvez.

"There is no mistake, Mr. Stevenson, but you're half right. You aren't sick." the dark skinned doctor answered simply and his male assistant turned on a computer to Linwood's left.

Seeing how shaken the inmate was, Boris rested a hand on his shoulder. Even though he read Linwood's file and he knew how bad of a person this man was, that didn't mean he enjoyed making people miserable.

As Linwood stared up at the doctor's dark eyes, he slowly lowered his head onto the bed and his heartbeat lowered in volume. He was still greatly uneased by his situation and the lack of answers, but the touch of another human being eased him lightly. But as far as he knew, this man was the reason why he was there in the first place, so he knew he couldn't fully trust the doctor.

"Now, Mr. Stevenson, I lied about why you're here for a very important reason. I am only allowed to tell you the very basic reason why, but I'm afraid everything else is classified." Boris stated and he gently pat the other man's shoulder.

Doctor Sarvez then motioned towards the computer screen that just turned on. Following the doctor's hand, Linwood turned his head to stare at the flat computer screen. The screen displayed a double helix with various letters next to each prong. His name was also typed out on the top of the screen.

"That's a visual representation of your mDNA, Mr. Stevenson. Well, a very small strand of it anyway. Our colony's A.I. analyzed yours and all the other inmates' DNA through the blood samples we took of you all. Yours is different from the others, however. Well, technically you all have different DNA, but yours has a certain sequence that we need." Dr. Sarvez stated while he grabbed some blue rubber gloves from the counter and put them on.

As Boris explained this, his female assistant opened some of the small bottles she brought with her and mixed small percentages of the chemicals together. She counted each milligram she mixed together before she filled one of the syringes with the concoction she created. With a light flick to the needle, she turned to face Boris.

"It's ready, sir." she informed.

"Alright. Good." Doctor Sarvez nodded and he carefully took the hypodermic syringe from her before he turned to look at the inmate.

"Hey, wait. What is that?" the restrained man demanded as his eyes trained on the needle.

"It's just something to help you sleep and to slow your heart rate down. Don't worry. You'll be fine." Dr. Sarvez answered vaguely.

"Fuck you! I demand to know what's going on!" the inmate shouted with panic and anger in his voice.

Linwood began to struggle against his restraints at that point and he rapidly turned his head back and forth. He didn't want that needle anywhere near him. Survival instincts and panic began to kick in as he struggled on the bed. On the doctor's order, the male assistant rushed out of his seat and firmly held the man's head steady.

Doctor Sarvez leaned over the screaming man and dabbed a cloth with alcohol on it against the side of the inmate's neck. Once he was sure that the area was clean, he slowly pushed the needle through the skin and injected the concoction into the restrained man's vein. The chemicals were pumped through Linwood's system and he began to feel his muscles involuntarily relax and his eyes droop. His beating heart commenced to slow as he stared up at the doctor and his assistant. The inmate slowly opened his dry mouth to say something, but he never did. His eyes closed as he turned his head to the side and he passed out.

By the time the bald man was unconscious; the male assistant released his head and backed away. Boris sighed heavily and he walked across the room towards the trash can. He held the syringe over the metal can and pressed a button on the side of the medical instrument. This caused the needle to pop out of the cylinder and it fell into the trash. With the needle now gone, he walked back and placed the syringe onto the table.

"Get this man ready for surgery. We will begin in six minutes." Doctor Sarvez informed his assistants.

The two of them nodded before they worked together to take off Linwood's restraints so they could take off his jumpsuit. Boris smiled as he turned away and looked at his reflection in the mirror. This was only the first step.

* * *

On the other side of the floor Linwood was on, there was a long row of locked rooms with various numbers displayed on top of the metal doors. Each room had a hand scanner on the wall next to the doors that would only allow high class personal to open them.

In the room labeled "A-12," there was a single fluorescent light shining down in the small, square shaped room. The room was rather bland looking. Both the walls and floor were white while the ceiling was a light beige color. There were no decorations or furniture in the small space, save for a small cot that lacked any blankets or pillows.

Aaron Makov was lying down on the cot as he awoke. His eyes slowly parted to see the tiled ceiling above him. At first, he wasn't entirely sure where he was, but he quickly recalled that he was on Aipaloovik VII after a short moment of thought. Then the memory of being gassed with most of the other prisoners came to mind. He found himself frowning as he sat up and he combed his fingers through his jet black hair. From the look of things, these people didn't want him or the other inmates dead, considering that the gas wasn't lethal. Still, such an effort to knock everyone out was strange to him.

The first thing the Russian-American prisoner noticed was that the very same gas valve that rendered him unconscious earlier was looking down at him from the ceiling. Considering that it was in the same room as him, these scientists would rather have him asleep to transport rather than escorting him. And he guessed that he would be moved at least once. His theory was reinforced by the fact that there wasn't a toilet in the room. It was highly unlikely that they'd go through the trouble of moving him across the universe just to have him trapped in a lowly room to starve to death.

The next thing he spotted was a camera on the side of the room. It let out a soft, mechanical hum as it slowly turned right and left, pausing briefly between turns. Obviously, he was being watched considering there was a red light shining next to the camera lens. He found himself smiling at the camera; he was confident that his theories were correct.

There was one last thing of note that Aaron noticed. To the left of the door, there was a grated opening on the edge of the ceiling. The inmate stood up and walked over to the metal opening and he realized that it was an air vent. He was tempted to try to pry the thing open, but there were three problems with this. One: the vent was just out of his reach. He might've been able to reach it if he dragged his cot over to it however. Two: the camera was positioned so that it was almost always facing the vent. And three: if he was spotted mucking around with the vent's opening, he was bound to be gassed again. From the look of things, he was stuck with no means of escape.

For some reason, the inmate felt that despite his desperate situation, things would go in his favor. He wasn't usually the type to rely on such nonsense as gut feelings, but there wasn't anything else he could go on at the moment. With this in mind, he laid back down on his cot and rested his hands behind his head to get comfortable.

'I wonder how the other inmates are faring.' Aaron calmly thought to himself as he watched the camera turn to face him.

* * *

Wilson Brown gasped as his eyes shot open. He just woke up from a nightmare and he breathed heavily as he looked around, trying to figure out where he was. The room he was in was bright; lit by several white lights. Looking down at the floor, he saw that the tiles were a dark aqua color and there was a square hole on the floor in front of him. He noticed at that point that he was standing straight up and there were leather straps around his body, keeping him in place. The object he was restrained to was a padded capsule that left his body from the waist up exposed.

"What the…" the Australian inmate murmured and he slowly turned his head to his right.

It wasn't clear to him whether he should've felt joy or dread, but two of the other prisoners were restrained in a similar fashion he was. And just like him, there were large, square holes in front of them. However, the two inmates were still knocked out from the gas that was used on them earlier.

A loud beep rang out through the room at that moment, which made Wilson jump with a start. He looked straight ahead of him to see an oval window ahead of him and he could see the silhouettes of two people on the other side. The window was built in such a way that he couldn't make out any details on the other side, but there were definitely people there. He tried to pull away from the capsule he was restrained to as he eyed the figures.

"Hey! Let me out of here! Oi! Can you hear me!" he screamed, but the figures simply ignored him.

Mechanical humming was then heard coming from under him. Wilson quickly looked down at the square hole underneath him. It wasn't clear exactly what was in there, but whatever it was, it was rising. The inmate broke into a cold sweat as he watched the strange object creep upwards at a gradual pace, humming as it did so.

In unison, three blackish brown objects rose form the holes via metal platforms under them. The strange, capsule-like objects looked leathery, but it was hard to tell exactly what it was or what it was made out of. The tops of these egg-shaped objects were lighter in color and it appeared to have four flaps that were closed in to contain whatever might've been inside.

The Australian prisoner wanted to cry out. Something, anything, but he was too frightened to speak. He didn't care what these things were, but their organic appearance disturbed him greatly. A choked gasp escaped his throat as the leathery flaps shifted before they slowly peeled back. This revealed a pinkish tan, flesh-like covering within. The fleshy layered substance was coated in mucus and it very lightly pulsed.

A warm stream of liquid ran down his leg as he urinated with fear. He was on the verge of crying as he watched the strange object with horror. Never in his life has he seen something so vile looking and queer. The fleshy substance within the leather-like capsule squelched as it gradually moved aside. He wanted to look away, but no matter what, his body didn't listen to his commands and he kept looking inside. His heart skipped a beat when something moved inside, but there was too much mucus to tell exactly what it was.

Barely a second passed when the strange creature inside leapt out of the capsule. Only a tan blur flew through the air before it latched onto Wilson's face. He didn't even have time to scream before something hard, yet malleable tightly wrapped around his neck and what felt like bony fingers curled around his head. Whatever was wrapped around his neck, it cut off his air supply and he gasped for breath. When his mouth opened for air, a long tube forced its way into his mouth, making him gag. Tears leaked from his eyes as the tube went deeper and deeper down his windpipe and he thrashed around in his bonds in a vain attempt to escape this monster.

Eventually, his thrashing ceased and he went limp with the thing still clung tightly on his face. As he lost consciousness, the two other eggs opened and similar creatures latched onto the other two. And during all of this, the two silhouettes in the other room silently watched.


	6. Patient's Care

**Kwai kwai everyone! Well, I finished this chapter a lot faster than I thought I would. I had a lot of fun writing this one and I hope you all enjoy it. Thank you to those who've reviewed and been supportive. Remember to leave a review or send me a PM!**

Chapter 6: Patient's Care

Tower D of the Aipaloovik colony was more active than usual ever since the inmates from Hades V arrived. A large sum of that activity was thanks to Linwood Stevenson and his apparent unique mDNA. Said inmate was still in the medical room he had been locked in, the one with the large mirror. Only one side of the mirror was reflective however. Right next to the medical room, there was an observation room. The two rooms were connected via the one-way mirror. From one side, it looked like a massive mirror, but from the other, it was a fully transparent window.

This room was much more dimly lit than the medical room. Only one light on the ceiling was on and it was much dimmer compared to the other lights in the colony. This was so that the mirror from this side would be transparent. A long desk was resting in the center of the room with a few office chairs next to it. The table had a single computer resting on it as well as a microphone to communicate with those in the surgery room. Currently, only one chair was being used.

A doctor named Jennifer Len was sitting at the desk and she was typing some notes into the computer in front of her. She was a black haired woman of Asian descent and she wore a white lab uniform. As she watched the three medical personnel in the other room prepare for surgery, she took notes of everything that was going on. It was her job to record what went on so the other scientists working on this project could have a reference besides the security cameras and medical footage.

As Jennifer typed some pre-surgery notes, a dark figure moved in the background. Slowly and silently, the creature moved towards her with its razor sharp claws extended. Drool dripped from its black chin and the sharp tail behind it flicked with predatory excitement. The dim light reflected off its smooth, long head as it approached her and it raised its arms to strike.

The doctor stopped typing at that moment and she felt a cold chill run up her spin. Slowly, she turned her head to look over her shoulder and her brown eyes widened at what she saw. She let out a horrified scream and held her arms up to shield her face, but the creature didn't attack her. It actually let out a chuckle and lowered its arms. Doctor Len glared at the creature at that moment and suddenly slapped its face.

"Charles, you fucking asshole! Don't do that to me!" she yelled at the black creature and she balled her hands into fists.

"I apologize, doctor. I couldn't help it. You humans are so fun to scare." the black creature spoke with a masculine voice and a toothy smirk, revealing its silvery sharp teeth.

Jennifer shook her head and held her hand over her rapidly beating heart. For a moment, she thought that one of the specimens had escaped. Charles wasn't a simple test subject; he was actually a rather unique synthetic. He was built by the company some years ago and he was recently shipped to Aipaloovik VII to assist the scientists in Tower D.

The unique synthetic crouched down to make himself look less intimidating and his dark lips slid over the sharp teeth he possessed. Having a synthetic like this was extremely uncommon since only three of his kind had ever been built, including himself. Wanting to calm the woman down, he rested a hand on her shoulder. He had to be extra careful however because his claws really were sharp, but he knew how to be gentle with organics.

"Come on, doctor. You know you can't stay mad at me." he spoke softly and she slowly looked at the smooth, black surface where one's eyes would be.

"Maybe… but you're still an asshole." she mumbled quietly.

Charles simply grinned at this and he sat down in the seat next to her. He had to sit with his body leaned forward to accommodate for the tube-like appendages that were sticking out of his back and his tail. So no one would trip on it, he curled his tail on the floor around his seat and rested the tailblade by his clawed feet.

"So, is this the new meat?" the synthetic questioned with his head tilted slightly to the left as he looked at Linwood's sleeping form in the next room.

"Your wording isn't optimal, but yes. If things go as well as we hope, he's going to be your partner." Jennifer answered as she took the last of the notes and she leaned back in her seat.

"Do you expect some prisoner from who knows where to do everything you ask? Like a dog?" Charles quickly asked.

"Why not? It's not like he has anywhere to go. And if he doesn't cooperate, we'll make him." the doctor answered vaguely.

Charles was about to ask something else, but he stopped and turned to his right when the door opened with a hum. Dr. Jenny O'Connell, the head scientist of Tower D, calmly walked into the room with a few other scientists behind her. The head scientist sat down next to the synthetic and the others chose their seats as they all took out data pads and portable cameras.

"They didn't start yet, did they?" O'Connell asked flatly and she rested her hands on the table.

"Not yet, doctor, but they were just about to." Dr. Len answered with a small smile; now that everyone was here, things could finally get started.

"Good." was all the head scientist said and she looked out the window with a blank look on her face.

Everyone went silent at that moment and they all followed her example. Charles lightly clicked his claws against the table as he waited for everything to get started, but he quickly stopped when he received a few glares. He mentally scoffed at everyone's seriousness, and he focused on the bald man in the other room.

"What's his name." the synthetic spoke quizzically.

"Linwood R. Stevenson. He's responsible for three counts of murder. One of which was behind bars and very recent." a male scientist at the end of the table answered after checking his data pad.

"Hm… I can't wait to properly introduce myself." Charles commented quietly, mostly to himself as his seemingly eyeless face stared directly at the inmate with interest.

Linwood himself was still unconscious from the vaccine he was given a few minutes ago. He was no longer in his prison jumpsuit however. He was completely naked on the medical bed with a long white cloth covering his body from the waist down. Boris Sarvez was standing over him with a surgical lab uniform on instead of his usual dress clothes and coat. A white surgical mask covered the bottom half of his face and he wore blue rubber gloves, but unlike his two partners, he wasn't wearing any goggles.

Behind the doctor, his two assistants were prepped and ready for the surgery. His female companion was standing by the tray of scalpels, vaccines, and other necessities while the male kept track of Linwood's vitals and the heartbeat monitor. When Boris glanced at them, they both raised their thumbs as a sign that they were all set.

"Alright. We are now commencing the surgery on the subject." Doctor Sarvez spoke so that the individuals in the other room could hear him through the speakers.

When he asked for it, his female assistant handed him a syringe that was filled with a golden colored liquid. He quickly flicked the tip of the needle before he wiped Linwood's left wrist clean so that the vein would be clean.

"I will now be introducing the modified mDNA into his bloodstream." he announced before he slowly stabbed the needle into the vein.

Everyone watched with anticipation as the fluid was released into the bald man's body. Keeping the needle in place, Dr. Sarvez was given a fresh cloth and he placed it over the needle as he slid it out. He then pressed the cloth against the wound to help keep the concoction inside the vein. Once he was sure that there would be no bleeding, he pulled the wet cloth away and he was pleased to see barely any blood.

"First step complete." he calmly announced.

With the easy part out of the way, Boris placed down the empty syringe and he held his gloved hand out. After requesting for a laser, his assistant very carefully placed the handle of a pen-like device into his open hand, which he gently gripped. The doctor slowly moved up so that he was over Linwood's face, where there was a black dotted line drawn over the man's nose. He held the cylinder like he would a pen or pencil and upon pressing a red button on the side of the device, a thin, blue laser beam shot out. The smell of burning flesh was emitted into the air as the laser burned into Linwood's nose. The heat stopped any bleeding, but as the laser very slowly moved across the tip of the nose, the appendage was cut open. Upon reaching the end of the dotted line, Boris stopped the laser and he gave it to his assistant, who set it aside.

"Forceps." the doctor stated and he was quickly given the steel tool.

Acting quickly, yet carefully, Boris placed the tips of the closed forceps into the incursion before he spread the two metal rods. This was to open up the incursion so that it would be easier to work. The sweating man gulped from such a procedure and he felt his assistant wipe his forhead with a towel to keep his sweat off of the patient.

"Give me Syringe B." Doctor Sarvez ordered with his hand outstretched and he was soon given the requested item. "Now injecting the serum into the subject's vomeronasal organ." he announced.

Carefully, the doctor inserted the needle into the small, bean shaped organ and injected the chemical into it. In his opinion, this was the worst part of the surgery since he had to cut so deep into the patient's nose just to reach this spot. But he didn't like the next part much better.

Once the syringe was emptied, he gave the empty cylinder to his assistant, who quickly replaced it with another pen-shaped object. This one was twice as thick however and it had two nozzles on the end of it as well as two buttons. Boris pressed the pen-like object deep into the incursion and pressed one of the buttons, which caused a clear spray to shoot out of the tool. This was a medical spray that helped the body heal at a much faster rate than it would on its own. However, the patient would still require at least a day's worth of rest before he could move around again, maybe longer.

Once he believed he used enough spray, Doctor Sarvez pressed the other button on the cylinder. This caused a thin, green laser to shoot out. He ordered his female assistant to support the tip of his nose before he removed the forceps from the incursion. While he did this, he slowly moved the laser side to side across the incursion. Meanwhile, the assistant very gently pushed the tip of the nose back into place. By the time the tool was out of Linwood's nose, the cut had been completely cauterized with only a thin line of visible scar tissue. The nose still required gentle care, but it would be fine otherwise.

With a small sigh, the doctor handed the unneeded tools to his assistant. There wasn't time to relax however. Upon demanding it, his assistant gave him a handheld surgical drill. With the drill in one hand, he gently grabbed the patient's forehead and slowly turned his head to the side.

"I'm now drilling to the frontal lobe to reach the cerebrum." the doctor announced and some more sweat was wiped from his forehead.

Almost everyone watching held their breaths as they watched Boris squeeze the drill's trigger and he lined up the spinning device over the side of the patient's head. The dark skinned man's muscle's tensed as he slowly pressed the edge of the drill against the subject's head and the drill dug its way through the flesh and muscle, making a very thin hole. Once the drill completely cut through the skull, he released the trigger and carefully pulled the drill out before he could even touch the brain. He obviously had a lot of practice doing this.

"Syringe C." he stated and was given the cylinder.

Unlike the other two, this syringe had a much longer needle. But because of its increased length, it was a lot more fragile. Boris knew this and he lined the syringe up to the thin, bleeding hole on the side of the subject's head.

"I will now inject the final serum into the subject's cerebrum." the doctor informed everyone.

Carefully, the needle traveled through the freshly dug hole and the end of the needle pierced into the gray matter. Boris was a little afraid that he was going too fast, which was something you didn't want to do since he couldn't even see his target. However, he knew he drilled into the right spot, so he pushed the needle a little deeper before he injected the serum into the frontal lobe.

Once finished, the needle was carefully removed and he was given the thick laser device again. He sprayed the inside of the hole, careful not to actually hit the brain, before he used the laser to cauterize the incursion. The doctor smiled under his surgical mask as he straightened his back with a loud pop. He placed the device on the tray before he looked up at the one-sided mirror.

"The operation was a success. It is complete." he proudly announced and his two assistants clapped happily.

Everyone except Charles sighed in relief within the observation room. Doctor O'Connell even smiled, which was a rather rare occurrence. She grabbed the microphone that was resting on the table and cleared her throat before she began speaking.

"Good work, all of you. You all did a fantastic job." she congratulated the three doctors.

The two assistants nodded with smiles behind their masks while Boris fully lowered his surgical mask from his face. He was proud of his work and he looked down at the still unconscious patient. He was excited to see his hard work pay off.

* * *

Time had passed normally since the surgery took place. No one outside of Tower D was aware of what happened. In fact, most of the colony's residents were still sleeping, save for a few officers and those who worked the night shift at their respected places of employment.

The planet's blue sun just barely rose over the ocean's surface when Angela got ready for work. She had to get up extremely early to tend to the plants in the hydroponics labs, but this paid off because she also got to leave work earlier than most people. Since she was already a morning person, these hours never bothered her. It just meant that the majority of the second half of the day could be spent at her leisure.

Angela Senior was sitting on her bed in her apartment's bedroom as she put on her shoes. Her bedroom was rather cozy looking with photographs of her family and a few posters hanging from the wall. There was also a large television in the corner of the room with two beanbag chairs in front of it. Sure, the chairs were very old fashion compared to what was available now, but that's how she liked it. Plus, they were a gift from her mother.

Once her shoes were on, the white haired woman stood up and walked out of the room and into the small living room, which doubled as a kitchen. She walked over to her cabinet next to the refrigerator and opened it. Inside, there were a few boxes of cereal and other breakfast foods that didn't require refrigeration. Eating like a bird usually paid off since she didn't have to use much money on food. Besides, Michael usually bought half the food she ate for her.

The horticulturalist found herself smiling at the thought of that kind synthetic who once saved her life. It always made her happy when they both had the time to hang out with each other. Thankfully, both of them had the day off tomorrow, which meant tonight would be movie night, where they would spend the night at her apartment and watch a number of random films. No matter what movie they watched, good or bad, they always had a fun time together.

Angela smiled brightly and hummed a small tune to herself as she took out an oatmeal snack bar from the cabinet before she slid the container closed. Before gorging herself on the snack, she grabbed her white lab coat and quickly put it on. Once that was done, she peeled the plastic wrapping open and took a bite of the treat. Her door opened on her command and she stepped into the hall outside before the door slid closed. She reached into her coat's inner pocket and pulled out a blue keycard with a picture of her face on it. While munching on her breakfast, she pushed the card into a thin keyhole on the side of the door and a click was heard, confirming that the door was locked.

This was the normal routine for her. She'd get up, have breakfast on the go, and head to work. Like most of the colonists, her apartment was in Tower B. Anyone who didn't live in Tower D stayed in the apartment level of B. This was so that there would be more room for work related sections in Tower A, which was where she herself worked.

Before the albino could make her way to work, she heard her neighbor's door open. She turned her head to the left to see Liam Bounland, one of the colony's civilian medical personnel, step out of the room. The middle aged man glanced at her and smiled before he turned around and locked his door.

"Good morning, Miss Senior. How are you this morning?" he greeted kindly with that British accent of his.

"I'm good, doctor." Angela replied with a small nod and a friendly smile.

She and the doctor had a friendly relationship despite the fact that they barely knew each other and she wasn't his patient. But since they were neighbors, Angela felt that she'd at least have good relations with the man. He seemed kind enough, if a bit lonely at times. She couldn't imagine how stressful it was being a doctor, especially when accidents were common amongst the engineers and some of the other personnel.

"Miss Senior, do you mind if I walk with you? I'd like to ask you something." the balding man requested and he dug his hands into his coat pockets.

"Sure." she shrugged; they were heading in the same direction anyway.

The doctor found himself smiling once again and the two of them walked down the hall together. It was uncommon for him to work this early, but his hours often changed do to patients needing help or having to change schedules.

At first, the two of them were awkwardly silent as Angela ate her snack. She found his silence odd, but she didn't comment on it. They turned a few corners until they reached the bridge that led to Tower A. As the metal door slid open and they stepped onto the brightly lit bridge, the two of them looked out at the dark ocean surrounding them.

"Miss Senior, have you ever wondered what's inside Tower D?" he asked suddenly, catching her attention.

"I've thought about it a few times, but I've never given it much thought." she admitted quietly and she finished her snack.

Since there was no trash bins on the bridge, she crumpled up the plastic wrapping and stuck it into her coat pocket. She figured that she'd throw it away once she got to work.

"Well, I find it disturbing that there's so much secrecy about that place. Do we not live here? Why can't we at least know what's going on there?" he asked with a frown, starting to rile himself up.

"I'm sure there's a good reason, Dr. Bounland. If it was anything to worry about, then we wouldn't be here. Either that or the colonial marines would be all over this place." the white haired woman replied and she rested a hand on his shoulder to get him to settle down, which he quickly shrugged off.

"I'm just tired of all the mysteries. I've lived on five different colonies in my life and not one of them had some secret base on them like here. It unsettles me." he sighed heavily.

The two of them exchanged glances for a moment before they looked out at the dark blue ocean. It was a little hard to see from that distance, but behind Tower C, they could just make out the glowing lights coming from Tower D. They both stopped walking for a few moments to stare at the tower in the distance while a few jellyfish-like creatures swam past them outside.

"I'm worried, Miss Senior. I'm worried that whatever they're hiding in there might be dangerous." Liam started as he looked at her again. "I know I seem like a hard-ass at times, but I'm just worried that whatever the company is hiding, it might come to harm us in the future." he revealed with a tired frown.

Angela never thought of it that way before and the more she thought about it, the more she understood his frustration. Still, she was sure that if there was anything dangerous there, then the government would've intervened a long time ago. She gently pat him on the back, thankful that he didn't resist her touch this time, before they continued walking.

"Don't worry, doctor. I promise that everything will be fine." she assured, wanting him to feel better.

"I hope you're right. One thing I do know is that I'm retiring as soon as I leave this place." he replied a bit jokingly, but he still held some concern.

By that point, the two of them reached the end of the bridge and they both passed through the open doorway into Tower A. The door hummed as it closed behind them and they found themselves at a t-intersection. One way led to an elevator where one could reach the medical deck while the other led to hydroponics. Of course, they'd both have to take several turns to reach their specific working station, but it was time for them to part ways.

"Well, thank you for sharing your thoughts, Miss, Senior. It's nice to talk to someone who doesn't look at me like a crazy old man." Liam stated with a light chuckle, making her smile.

"No problem, doctor." she assured with a nod.

"Oh, before you go… I'm not sure if you heard or not, but we're expecting some hurricane weather on the surface today. So, don't be surprise if everything starts shaking suddenly." he warned her.

It was hurricane season in the part of the planet the colony resided. Because of this, the hurricanes could cause earthquake-like tremors below the ocean's surface. The four towers' thick metal plating and support beams helped protect it from these storms, but caution was always advised during this season.

"I didn't know that. Thanks for letting me know." Angela replied gratefully. "Well, I'll see you later. Try to have a good day, please." she bid him farewell.

With that, the horticulturalist turned on her heals and walked down the hallway to the left. Liam Bounland watched her for a few moments, mostly staring into space, before he shook his head and walked to the right. If he was right and something bad was hidden in Tower D, then only the worst would happen. He just knew it.

The middle aged man approached an elevator and pressed the call button before he clasped his hands behind his back. He really hoped that she was right and there was nothing to worry about. A ding was heard before the elevator doors opened and he stepped inside. He closed his eyes and mumbled a quick prayer before the elevator doors slid shut.


	7. Natural Selection

**Kwai kwai nidobak! I'm happy to publish another chapter in such a short amount of time, at least by my standards. Thank you to all of you who've been supportive. It's nice to know that my silly writing can entertain others. As always, remember to leave a review or send me a PM! I read all of them.**

Chapter 7: Natural Selection

At the start, there was a blank darkness; one of simple calmness and ease. Then there was piercing white light that shined through the shadows, only to quickly be swallowed up again by the black void. Once again, the light returned, but more slowly this time.

Linwood's brown eyes gradually adjusted to the light that was shining down on him. The first thing that he felt was a mild soreness all over his head and in his arm. Along with the soreness, he felt his head pounding behind his eyes, which made him groan in discomfort. It felt like someone hit the side of his head with a baseball bat with all their might. He wished that he was exaggerating, but he wasn't.

Groggily, the bald man looked to the left to see a blank, white wall staring at him. This wasn't the same room he recalled being in before he was knocked out. He looked up and down the wall, but all he could see was white metal. So, he turned his head to look the other way. This time, he could see a door and a window. The door was a blank sheet of steel with a simple hand scanner on the side of it. But a little ways away from the door, there was a rectangular shaped window. It was hard to see in his tired state, but he could see at least five figures on the other side. He couldn't really see, but neither figure was looking at him and they appeared to be facing one another.

The inmate groaned softly and looked away from the wall, just to stare at the blinding light above him. With the little amount of strength he possessed, he began to rise his head and he frowned when he saw that he was restrained to yet another medical bed, much like the one he was on before. However, he was now wearing an aqua colored medical gown. Other than that, he wore nothing of his old garments and he had no idea where they were.

His eyes furrowed to focus ahead beyond his bare feet and he could see another door on the opposite end of the room. Unlike the one to his right, this door didn't have a hand scanner next to it. And in the upper corner of the room, he noticed a camera that constantly switched between watching him and that door.

A din was heard coming from Linwood's right, which made him gasp in surprise. He looked over to see that the door next to the window had opened. Doctor Sarvez walked through the now open doorway while he lifted a metal chair in one hand. And in the other, he was holding a plastic bottle filled with some purple liquid. Linwood just realized at that moment how dry his mouth felt the moment he looked at that liquid. His tongue rubbed the dry roof of his mouth at the thought of drinking something.

The door slid shut behind the tall man while he approached the medical bed. The doctor was no longer wearing the white uniform he wore during the surgery. Instead, he was donning a regular lab coat along with black dress pants and shoes. The dark man smiled lightly as he sat down on the seat he brought with him.

"Hello, Mr. Stevenson. I wasn't expecting you to wake up quite yet." Boris greeted kindly and he unscrewed the bottle cap. "Would you like a drink?" he offered.

Linwood could only managed a small nod. At that, the doctor scooted his chair forward and set the bottle cap down on his lap. With one hand behind the inmate's head for support, he held the bottle up to the other man's lips. The bottle was very slowly tilted upwards and Linwood felt the liquid flow into his dry mouth. Whatever it was, it tasted like grapes and he greedily drank it down, but he made sure not to go too fast.

After a few small gulps of the drink, Boris leveled the bottle and pulled it away. The bald man's mouth was still dry and he felt tired, but those few sips made a world of difference. He felt his head gently lowered onto the pillow under him and he watched as the doctor screwed the cap back onto the bottle.

"Wha…" Linwood started quietly, but he stopped when the man before him held a hand up to silence him.

"You want answers, I know. I'll tell you as much as I'm allowed to. I'm not sure if there's an easy way to say this, so I'll just say it. I performed surgery on you." Boris briefly stated as he clasped his hands over the plastic bottle. "I injected a modified strand of mDNA into you through one of your veins, your vomeronasal organ within your nose, and your frontal lobe. Um, don't worry, I made sure that you won't get any permanent scars and the surgery was a flawless success." he explained and he briefly bit his lower lip, as if a little nervous.

At first, Linwood's eyebrows simply furrowed in confusion as he listened. This was all confusing to him. He didn't understand why he needed a surgery in the first place or why whatever this mDNA was had to be injected into these specific parts. And most importantly, he wanted to know the reason why he was never asked permission before he was cut upon like a fish. If he wasn't so exhausted, he would have been screaming with anger at this point.

"Why?" he managed to ask and his fingers gradually curled into light fists.

"Well, since you survived the surgery and your body appears to accept the serum, I can partially explain. You see, you're different than your peers. I told you that you have a strand of mDNA that is different from the others. As an exobiologist, you know as well as I that DNA consists of various codes that make you, well, you. What makes you special is that you have a series of codes in one of your strands that we hypothesis would accept the modified mDNA strand we've… created." Dr. Sarvez quickly explained, never looking Linwood in the eyes.

This just raised more questions rather than answered and it showed on the bald man's face. Boris understood that this was a lot to take in, but he had to think carefully about what he could and couldn't say. After a long, awkward pause, the doctor cleared his throat before speaking again.

"We have taken blood samples from every single person who lives on this colony, including myself. Yet only two others here had coding that was similar to yours. They weren't quite the same, but we believed they would work. They volunteered for the surgery you went through, but the introduced serums I gave them was not compatible. They died, Mr. Stevenson." Boris explained and he briefly looked away with a look of regret. "So, we started importing unwilling subjects here to try to find the coding we needed. Then you came along. And not only did you have what we believed would be a compatible strand of mDNA, but you ARE compatible. And soon, you'll be the pioneer to another step in evolution. An evolution that us humans can mold for ourselves." he explained and he found himself smiling widely by the end of his short speech.

"What…? What do you mean…? What did you give me?" Linwood demanded softly and he shifted his shoulder blades a little to try to lift his upper body a little, but his bonds kept him firmly in place.

Dr. Sarvez bit his lower lip again and he looked over at the window behind him. One of the shadowed over figures made a nodding motion when he looked over, so he turned back to look at the inmate with newfound excitement. He seemed to be much more energetic now, like a child with their school science project.

"We are breeding a life form, Mr. Stevenson. A life form that operates under a collective hive mind. The serum that I injected into you is a lightly modified form of their mDNA that has been changed to… not be harmful towards humans, for the lack of a better term. We are hoping that within the hour, you will be connected to this hive mind. Hell, it's a possibility you're at least partially connected now." Boris proudly announced with a confident smile.

Linwood felt a cold chill run up his spine as he stared up at the doctor. This response only raised more questions than answered, which he noticed was a running theme with this conversation. What was this life form that they were breeding and what good would connecting to their hive mind be? It only made the man more confused when he tried to think of answers for himself and he opened his mouth to ask something, but he was interrupted.

"I don't mean to cut you off, but answers will soon come. For right now, I wish to introduce you to someone. He's a synthetic that is also connected to this hive mind." Dr. Sarvez stated before he looked over his shoulder at the window. "Charles! Please come in here!" he called out.

Everything seemed to fall silent at that moment. The two men watched as one of the dark figures in the other room moved to the left. A beep was heard before the metal door next to the window hummed open. Soft clicks of claws against marble was heard as Charles, the synthetic, stepped into the room. The light reflected off the black surface of his exoskeleton as he entered the room and the door slid shut behind him once his tail was fully through.

Linwood felt terror overwhelm him as he stared at what looked like a monster, a creature from hell itself. Nothing from Hades V could prepare him for a sight like this. By no means, was he a religious man, but seeing this creature made him want to pray. He watched as the synthetic slowly stepped forward and stood next to Boris, who had been sitting calmly in his chair the whole time.

Charles' head slowly looked over at the restrained human with seeming interest. He could feel a slight connection with this man, which made his lips peel back in a grin. This just proved that the surgery was a success.

"Wh-what the fuck is that…?" the bald man softly managed to say.

"Mr. Stevenson, I would like to introduce you to XL4, but we all call him Charles. You don't have to fear him. He's a synthetic and like all synthetics, he cannot harm humans in any way. And he's been eager to meet you." the doctor introduced, hoping to calm down the obviously terrified man.

"It is nice to meet you, Stevenson." the midnight black synthetic spoke with that toothy grin of his, referring to the prisoner by his last name.

Neither of their words helped very much. Linwood continued to stare at Charles with fear. Not only was this synthetic completely different from any life form he's ever seen, but the fact he was restrained and in the presence of this intimidating creature made his heart race. All he could do was stare at those sharp teeth and claws.

Boris frowned heavily at the inmate's unchanging attitude towards Charles. He thought that perhaps it was too soon to introduce Linwood to Charles, or any of the specimens for that matter. It might be better to introduce Linwood to these concepts at a slower pace. He turned to look at the synthetic at that moment and cleared his throat to gain his attention.

"I think Mr. Stevenson needs more time to adjust to everything." he told the synthetic, hoping the machine would take the hint.

It took a moment for Charles to process what Boris was getting at, but he soon nodded in understanding. It was entertaining for him to frighten humans, but he didn't want to give this one a panic attack. His smooth head moved to face Linwood, who was still staring at him. He could only imagine how vulnerable this human felt.

"I agree. I hope to see you again, Stevenson. My apologies for scaring you." the synthetic spoke before he turned around to leave.

Doctor Sarvez sighed and glanced at Linwood before he stood up and picked up his chair. Without a word, the two of them walked to the exit, which hummed open. The two of them didn't look back or say anything as they entered the viewing room and the door closed behind them. From this side, they could clearly see through the window into the holding chamber where Linwood was restrained.

Besides Charles and Boris, Dr. Len, Dr. O'Connell, and one of the security officers were in the room. The officer was sitting in an office chair by a computer while the two doctors stood by the window. Doctor Len turned to look at Boris and Charles, but the head scientist kept staring at the prisoner in the other room.

"How's the subject doing?" Jennifer Len asked curiously.

"He's scared, but he's otherwise fine. He was drinking without any issues." Doctor Sarvez answered as he held up the bottle he was carrying before he set it down on the table by the window.

"Stevenson didn't seem to take my presence very well." Charles noted flatly with his silver teeth bared slightly.

"I have a heart attack every time you show your ugly face. So, I don't blame the guy." the officer commented jokingly, but he jumped with a start when the synthetic let out a fierce hiss.

"That's enough, you two." Doctor O'Connell snapped, catching everyone's attention.

The head scientist was always known for her seriousness. If there was a job that needed doing, she would do whatever it took to complete it. This sometimes drove her at odds with her employees, but few directly questioned her. And fewer intentionally tried to make her angry. Without looking away from the window, she began speaking.

"XL4… did you manage to feel a connection with the subject?" O'Connell questioned with an emotionless tone of voice.

"Partially. I believe he's at the beginning stages of linking to the hive." Charles answered bitterly.

Like many synthetics, he greatly disliked being referred to as a machine. Even if he wasn't modeled after a human, he preferred to be called by a human name. Despite how he felt, he didn't voice his frustration.

"Good. I would like to introduce a few specimens to the prisoner." she told everyone and she clasped her hands behind her back.

"Wait, what!? Doctor O'Connell, you can't seriously demand this." Boris quickly objected as he stepped towards her. "That man nearly had a panic attack just from seeing Charles. Not only that, but the specimens might consider him a target. Performing surgery without his consent is bad enough, but we cannot-"

"This is non-negotiable. The company demands results from this project if we want to be funded." the head scientist interrupted and she finally turned to glare at Dr. Sarvez.

"Doctor O'Connell, I'm begging you. Don't do this!" Dr. Sarvez yelled at this point and his face wrinkled as he frowned with stress.

"Be quiet. We need results or else this whole project will be scrapped. If the damn subjects try to attack him or us, then we'll gas the room." she said sternly before she looked over at the uneased officer at the computer. "Introduce the specimens." she ordered.

* * *

In the next room, Linwood was steadying his breathing as he stared up at the bright ceiling. He was still a bit shaken by the synthetic from a few moments ago, but now that it was gone, he felt much better. So much was happening to him in a short amount of time and he still didn't fully understand why. Sure, he had the DNA they wanted, but why did he have to have this bad luck? He grew frustrated as he thought about this. Why couldn't someone else have their special DNA code!? At least things made sense in Hades V.

Still, being locked in the room alone made him unnerved even with the robot gone. The individuals' faint yelling could just barely he heard from the other room, but it was too muffled to tell what exactly they were saying. He wasn't much of a fan of other people, but he didn't like being in bad situations alone. The isolation almost made him want that doctor to come back. Come to think of it, he could use another sip of that drink from earlier.

A low humming was heard suddenly. The prisoner speedily raised his head at the sound, but he winced when he felt a sharp pain in the center of his head. He mentally cursed himself for moving too fast right after surgery. He tightly closed his brown eyes and took a deep breath before he reopened them. Upon reopening them, he could see that the lone door across from him, the one far away from the window, had been unlocked. The room beyond the doorway was pitch black and it was hard to see inside.

"Hello! Is someone there!?" he tried calling out, but there was no response.

A long silence took place after that. Linwood kept staring at the open darkness in the room beyond the doorway, but his eyes couldn't adjust to the blackness. There was a faint sound in the air however. If he focused on it, he swore it was breathing. Something was definitely in the darkness. And for some reason, his head started to really hurt.

Linwood gasped when a faint click was heard. If he wasn't so focused on the other room, he probably wouldn't have heard it. The sound was similar to that of the synthetic's walking, but this sound was much lighter.

"Ch-Charles…?" he stuttered nervously; did something move?

The darkness itself seemed to shift as the faint clicking of claws grew louder, yet still deathly quiet compared to the synthetic's. The bald man's heart pounded in his chest as he watched a black being slowly step into the light. The creature pointed its long head directly where he was restrained as a line of drool dripped from its lower lip.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

Linwood's heart beat furiously in his chest while the midnight black monster fully moved into the light. Its spine-like tail swished for just a moment before it went stalk still; perhaps to balance it while it stood on two legs. And it didn't end there. Right behind it, a second creature walked into the room. Unlike the first one, which had a smooth head like Charles, the second one's head was ridged.

The ridge headed monster hissed from the back of its throat and its eyeless face slowly turned to look at the window, only to turn back to the restrained man. An amalgamation of fear, horror, and curiosity swept through Linwood's mind as he eyed the creatures. There was no way in hell they were from earth, but they held no aquatic features. So, they weren't from this planet either. He could only think to call them aliens.

"H-help… help…" the man begged quietly when he turned to face the window, but none of the silhouettes in the other room moved a muscle.

A deep growl brought the inmate's attention back to the aliens. With a fearful jump, he quickly looked over at the mysterious organisms, who were now standing over his bed. How did they get so close that fast? And why did his head hurt so much?

A small hiss escaped the smooth headed alien when it slowly leaned forward. Its face was mere inches from Linwood's before it opened its mouth as wide as it could. The restrained man looked right down its open maw to see something he never expected, another mouth. The second opening snaked its way forward and opened, its teeth lightly brushing against his skin. Was this creature smelling or trying to intimidate him? Or something else? Linwood didn't know the reasoning behind this, but he was too afraid to contemplate this.

As he stared at the second maw that kept opening and closing, the ridge headed beast appeared to look up and down the man's body, as if inspecting him. Finally, the small mouth in front of his face slid back into the smooth head's open mouth before it quickly moved away without a sound. He watched as the back alien stormed towards the window and hissed directly at the silhouettes. The one with the ridged skull looked away from Linwood and simply growled while it rested its six fingered hand on the human's chest, making him shiver.

That hand was so skeletal, yet despite all its crevices and ridges, the exoskeleton was rather smooth textured. But what concerned him more were those claws, yet the alien appeared to take care not to cut into his flesh, which he was thankful for.

A din made Linwood flinch as the first creature roughly banged its smooth head against the window, making an echoed thump noise. It hissed before it repeated this action, then a third time. Finally, one of the shadowed figures moved and pressed its hand against an unseen location to the right. A spraying sound rang out from above them and both the human and the two aliens looked up at the nozzles on the ceiling.

A colorless gas was being leaked into the room and the two aliens started to snarl and shriek as they restlessly swatted their hands in the air. Their sharp tails flicked in the air and the smooth headed one tried to rush back to the room they came from, but the vapors could just barely be seen leaking in from the dark room as well.

The creature with the ridged head let out an ear piercing shriek before its tail lunged upwards and the tailblade smashed into one of the nozzles. The sound of metal rapidly bending echoed through the room as the nozzle was damaged by the sharp tail, but the other nozzles kept spraying away.

Linwood felt his breathing slow in pace and his eyes started to droop. His chest rose and fell as he looked over at the ridge headed alien, who's movements had also slowed down despite its remarkable feat. The dark being growled from the back of its throat as it looked down at him. It reached its bony hand to touch him, but his vision went black before it connected.


	8. Anomaly

**Kwai kwai everyone! It really pleases me how much attention this story is getting. I'm glad you all find my writing entertaining. Thank you all for the support. Remember to leave a review or send me a PM!**

Chapter 8: Anomaly

The skies of Aipaloovik VII had gotten considerably darker and cloudier as the day went by. By about midway through the day, the mighty blue sun in the sky couldn't even pierce the dark gray clouds. On the super ocean's surface, nearby the colony, the water was still rather calm and even soothing. Then, a water droplet fell from the sky and splashed into the salty ocean water. Soon after, another drop landed in the water. It didn't take long for more rain to fall, but it became heavier and more prominent with each passing moment. The ocean water distorted and morphed into various circular and splashing shapes as the rain hammered down.

A bright light flashed throughout the horizon followed by the roar of thunder. The wind was beginning to pick up in speeds as well, which caused the usually calm surface to form waves of various different sizes. But despite the natural activities of the surface, the ocean below was still relatively calm. So far, the storm was not affecting below the surface or the human colony on this part of the planet, but everyone expected that to change at some point that day.

Within Tower D of the colony, Lieutenant Johanson, his two partners, and a few other security officers were inside a shooting range. The long room the various men and women were in was brightly lit and the walls were white. At the end of the rectangular room, thick wooden targets that were roughly humanoid shaped were standing on metal posts. Some of them had bullet holes in them, but others appeared to be untouched.

There was a guardrail between the officers and the targets. This was to deter people from going within the shooting zone while it was in use. Because they were in an enclosed room, everyone was required to wear hearing protection earmuffs. It was required to wear these while shooting and a sign by the room's exit reinforced this. The sign depicted a silly looking cartoon figure wearing earmuffs and the figure was babbling about gun safety and protecting one's ears.

Because no one wanted to go deaf from the echoing gunfire, everyone abided the rules. Lieutenant Johanson was one of the officers currently firing at one of the target dummies. He was shooting with his personal pulse rifle in short, three to five shot bursts without missing a single time. Practicing with the pulse rifle always eased his mind. All he had to focus on was his aim and the target. Nothing else mattered. In all honesty, he'd much prefer to strictly fire at inanimate objects over anything actually living.

A little ways to his left, Corporal Cobalt was firing a Heckler VP70 handgun. She missed once or twice, but she was generally on target. This was actually her first time using the firearm and she wanted to get a better handling on it. Meanwhile, Sergeant Shanza was sitting in one of the seats behind the shooters. Instead of practicing, he was using a wet rag to wipe clean a large riot shield that had the company's symbol in front of it. The riot shield was mostly made of transparent polycarbonate and it had a hard plastic handle. He had no interest in practicing right now, unlike his two partners.

Three other security officers were in the room. One of them was practicing with a shotgun while the other two cleaned some of the guns by the rack. The bangs of the three firearms being discharged rang throughout the room, but everyone's ears were safely protected. This was the usually downtime for them.

Everyone immediately stopped what they were doing however when they all felt a light tremor. It was very brief, but noticeable. Those who were shooting put their guns on safety and lowered their weapons as the room lightly shook. It was common knowledge throughout the colony that there was going to be a hurricane up on the surface, but they were expected the tremors a little bit later. Knowing it would be safer; the shooters took the clips out of their weapons and set them down on the racks. It probably wasn't a good idea to shoot when the colony was shaking, even if it was very gentle.

'Mine as well take this thing off now that no one's shooting.' the lieutenant thought to himself before he placed his hands over the muff's earpieces and lifted the thing off his head.

The others followed the lieutenant's example and took off their earmuffs. Some of them set them down on their seat or laps while others rested them around their necks. Johanson and Cobalt walked over to the bench Shanza was at and sat down with him. The shaking stopped at that moment, but they all knew it would start right back up again.

"How long do these hurricanes usually last for?" one of the officers, a skinny red head, asked curiously.

"Don't worry about it, rookie. The storm will pass us in a few hours." the man who fired the shotgun earlier replied with a bored tone.

The skinny officer just stayed quiet and held onto the nearby weapon rack as a more violent tremor shook the whole room, but it quickly passed before any harm was done. This was his first year on this planet and he hasn't experienced any hurricanes yet.

"The storm is supposed to have a three and a half thousand kilometer radius. Um, that's almost twice as big as the largest hurricanes on Earth. I'd say the storm will pass us completely in maybe eight or nine hours, considering the speed and direction it's moving. I don't think it'll stick around for more than a full day." Sergeant Shanza commented as he rested his muscular arms on his shield, using it as an improvised armrest.

"Damn, that's a big storm. Even for this place." the shotgunner mumbled.

The officers talked amongst themselves for a while as the shaking came and went. Besides maybe the rookie, everyone knew that the colony could take the brunt of storms. Of course, storms did sometimes cause leaks and the occasional power outages. Engineers and similar workmen hated hurricane season for these reasons, but it was a major safety hazard for Tower D, considering some of the test subjects. Because of this, the tower came equipped with various backup generators in different parts of the building. Three to be exact.

"Hey, Lieutenant, can I ask ya something?" the rookie asked curiously.

Johanson just grunted and glanced at the red haired kid. During all the conversations everyone was having, he mostly just spaced out and kept quiet. Besides his partners and occasionally Doctor Sarvez, he didn't really talk to anyone if he could help it. But now that everyone's attention was on him, it wasn't likely he could keep up his silence. Wordlessly, his blue eyes, which were mostly shrouded in darkness thanks to his deep eye sockets, looked over at the rookie, silently asking what he wanted.

"You were a colonial marine, right? What was it like?" the kid asked with interest and he leaned forward in his chair.

"Save it, rookie. The lieutenant doesn't tell anybody about himself. You'd probably have better luck tryin' to discover the Loch Ness Monster in the ocean outside." the shotgunner said jokingly with a grin.

The red haired officer looked a bit disappointed from this information and Johanson just looked away. But the kid wanted an answer, so he glanced over at Shanza and Cobalt.

"Hey, don't look at us. We know as much as you do." Corporal Cobalt commented with her hands raised defensively.

"Just drop it, alright?" Johanson spoke up with irritation in his voice. "I was a marine and I left. It wasn't the right way of life for me. That's all you need to know." he added sharply.

Immediately after that sentence, what everyone had been dreading happened. The fluorescent lights above them flickered as a violent tremor shook the whole building. It took everyone by surprise and one of the officers, who had been standing, fell down on their rump. The lights completely went out by the time the shaking ended, which shrouded the room in pitch blackness. It was impossible to see even two feet in front of them.

"Fuck!" the man who fired the shotgun earlier cursed and most everyone became alarmed from the blackout.

"Everybody, relax. The generators will power up soon." the lieutenant assured everyone from within the darkness.

After a long, eerie wait, an electrical whirring was heard and the lights suddenly powered back up. The lights shined down and drove back the darkness as if nothing had even happened. But this now posed a new problem. The power had been off for about three minutes, which everyone knew was plenty of time for a subject to possibly break free of their holding cells.

The generators were supposed to have immediately turned on, but they were delayed. It was unlikely that the subjects even understood what had happened, but they couldn't take any chances. It was their job to protect the populace and that was exactly what they were going to do. Even while they were shrouded in darkness, they debated whether they should go out and see what was going on. But now that the lights were back on, it was clear what they had to do.

"Everyone, get some weapons. We're heading out." Lieutenant Johanson ordered everyone as he quickly stood up and grabbed his pulse rifle from the rack.

Everyone nodded and suited up. While the shotgunner grabbed his signature weapon, the other two officers grabbed some pulse rifles. Corporal Cobalt had a different idea however. She walked down the rack of guns and picked up an M56 smartgun. She quickly hefted the heavy weapon and loaded it. Once it was fully armed with five hundred 10x28mm bullets, she reached over and put on the weapon's head-mounted sight, which fit snuggly on her head. Even though it was much heavier than a typical rifle, she preferred bigger weapons. And considering the possible emergency, she figured that this weapon might come in handy.

Sergeant Shanza equipped himself with a pulse rifle as well, but he quickly slung it over his shoulder so it wouldn't be in his way. With the rifle hanging from his shoulder, he lifted up the riot shield and firmly held it in his left hand. And with his freehand, he upholstered his personal revolver. He kept the handgun pointed upwards at all times while his shield stayed in front of him.

"Everyone ready?" Johanson asked everyone, who nodded in confirmation. "Good." he said simply with a straight face.

With his two partners by his side and the others behind them, the lieutenant opened the door to the exit and stepped out into the hallway. Keeping a steady pace, the six officers made their way down the hallway. Johanson knew exactly where he was going. He took a few turns, opened some doors, and led everyone to one of the tower's security rooms.

They all stopped at a metal door with a sign next to it marked as "SECURITY ROOM C7." The door slid open with a mechanical hum and the lieutenant walked in with the others close behind. An overweight security officer with sandy blonde hair was sitting at his desk and looking at the several screens in front of him, which showed off a few testing chambers nearby.

"Did anything get loose, Bill?" Shanza spoke up, catching the guard's attention.

"Two of them. Both in Egg Holding Chamber E." the overweight man, Bill, answered and he pointed at the screen at the bottom left of the wall in front of him.

All seven officers looked over at the screen to see a few masked scientists nervously looking around the room. The screen was a little staticky, which made it a bit hard to see the details. But on the bottom of the screen, the word "quarantine activated" was flashing red.

"Are they still in the room?" the lieutenant questioned as he eyed the screen carefully, hoping that the static would clear up.

"There's no way they could've gotten out before the quarantine activated." Bill answered with a deep frown and he combed his fingers through his curly hair. "I don't get it though. The backup generators should've turned on as soon as the power went out. What the fuck happened?" he asked, obviously very stressed from the current situation.

"Asses if I had a damned clue. Maybe it was faulty wiring." Johanson replied with a shrug.

"Sir… what are we gonna do?" the red head asked a bit nervously from the back of the group.

"This." Bill answered simply before he reached over to his keyboard and pulled it closer to him.

With the click of his mouse, the large officer pulled up a new screen on the computer monitor to his left. He turned his head to face the monitor as he opened up a black screen with white letters. He typed a few codes as well as the name of the quarantined room before hitting enter. Once he received a confirmation, he pulled out a slide from under his desk, which showed a round, red button. Without any hesitation, he pressed down on the button with his balled fist.

"Now watch." Bill told them all and he comfortably leaned back in his seat.

Everyone looked over at the camera's screen again to see that the display was getting more hazy, as if smoke was filling the room. Right before the whole screen could be shrouded in smoke, one of the scientists in the room could be seen falling onto the floor, followed by the second one.

"Sleep gas, right?" Johanson asked and the officer at the computer nodded.

It was protocol to activate the gas within the containment and testing chambers if any of the subjects either tried or did escape. It wouldn't be harmful to the subjects or humans, but it was unwise to leave people locked inside with the subjects, even if they were most definitely unconscious. With a sigh, the lieutenant turned around to face the five officers who had been following him.

"Alright, we're gonna head over to that egg chamber and get those two guys out of there. Then we'll confirm if the two little bastards are still in there or not. They should be knocked out, but if you see any of them moving, don't be afraid to shoot 'em to defend yourself." he informed everyone and he switched the safety off his weapon to emphasize his point.

"I'll manually lift the quarantine once you're there, but I'll have to turn it on again once you're inside. I'm sorry, but you'll have to confirm those things' status before I can let anyone out." Bill stated and he glanced at the screen to see that the gas was already clearing up and the static was settling down a little.

"Alright. Let's go." the lietenant announced.

And with that, the six men and women filed out of the room, the door slamming shut behind them. Bill shook his head and he rested his meaty hand on his chin as he stared at the security cams. If this mess was caused by faulty wiring, then he knew someone was going to be fired today.

* * *

On the northern side of Tower D, some twenty floors from the top floor, Doctor Jenny O'Connell was speedily walking down one of the many hallways in the tower, obviously in quite a rush. The power had just turned back on and she had been informed of the quarantine a few floors above her. Despite Dr. Sarvez's requests to the contrary, she left for the tower's engineering sector to investigate the cause of the delay.

The bright white lights above shined down on the head scientist as she speedily wandered down the hall, trekking past a group of men in lab coats, who were walking in the opposite direction. Her bony hands clenched into fists as she stared dead ahead with a cold gaze. The generators were what powered the whole tower for just these kind of storms. Under the rare circumstance that the power would go out, the emergency generator should've immediately activated. It shouldn't take three damn minutes to boot up again.

Taking a left, Jenny walked down a short hall that had a slight tilt downwards. The hall led to a single metal door, which possessed a glass window around head height. A sign over the door read "Generator Room" in fluorescent yellow letters. Punching the red button to the side of the door, the metal surface slid to the right, opening the doorway.

A heavy scent of salt breezed past her once the door opened, which actually made the doctor cough into her sleeve. The rather large room was a little more dimly lit than the hallways outside. The lights had a slightly yellowed tint to them and if one were to look up, the ceiling was coated in various pipes that ran this way and that. Between two of the pipes, water could be seen leaking in, possibly from outside.

Men wearing blue jumpsuits with bright yellow-green vests were woking on the leak, trying to fix it. White hard hats were planted on their heads, most with headlamps turned on, helping them see in the dimly lit room. Most of them were focused on the leak while others were fetching tools for the others. A few of them noticed the doctor, but none of them paid her any mind.

"What in the hell is going on here!?" Doctor O'Connell demanded as she stepped into the room with the door sliding shut behind her.

"The storm's knocked some screws loose!" a short man with dirt and grease all over his arms answered as he turned to face her.

He was one of the workers who weren't directly fiddling with the pipes and the leak. But right after he said that, the hurricane above caused another small tremor. O'Connell stumbled due to her high heels and she had to place a hand against the cold wall for support.

"What took the power so damn long to turn on again!?" she demanded, needing to yell so she could be heard over all the coordinating men.

"That leak happened!" the short worker said impatiently.

At that moment, Jenny noticed what was under the leak. Along the wall, there was a massive generator with a massive tarp hung over it, which kept any more water from getting into the wires. Of course, she didn't know much about this kind of stuff and she looked at the worker with a quizzical expression.

"Look, I'll be nice because you're signing my paycheck! That fuckin' leak got sea water into the generator and blew a fuse! We had to replace it with a 400 amp fuse, after we put that tarp up and dried the damn thing! You're lucky it took as little time as it did!" he answered with a frustrated tone of voice.

The head scientist frowned at the man for acting so disrespectful towards her, but she needed him and these workers to take care of this problem. If the power went out again, then they may find themselves in a worse predicament than a simple quarantine above.

"Make sure that that leak gets fixed!" she ordered him, wanting to feel more in control of the situation.

"Believe me, we're trying." the short man replied as he handed a wrench to one of his coworkers, paying little mind to the scientist.

With a quiet huff of annoyance, Dr. O'Connell turned around and walked through the now open door. She mentally cursed as she walked up the ramp and back into the main hallway. She did not like being talked to like that, but considering the current events, she'd let it slide. Right now, she had more important things to worry about. The next thing she had to do was make sure none of the specimens had awoken in the egg chamber.

* * *

"We're almost there. Keep up."

Lieutenant Johanson led the five officers behind him towards their destination. Anyone they passed by immediate stepped aside to make room for the heavily armed officers. Some of these scientists, engineers, and custodians held worried expressions. At least, the ones who were aware of what went on in this tower. Even those who had access to Tower D were mostly kept in the dark. Of course, seeing security officers rushing down a hallway with military grade weapons was enough to make anyone uneasy.

As the armed men and women drew closer to the quarantined zone, the alarm lights began flashing yellow, warning any and all of the possible danger. They all quickly marched passed a sign with "Egg Holding Chambers" displayed on its surface. After the sign, as well as a security checkpoint, they began passing a few rooms that were marked by letters.

"That's the room, right?" the shotgunner questioned when he noticed a door marked as E to their immediate left.

The lieutenant merely nodded and he sharply came to a stop as he held his left hand up in a fist. This made everyone else stop and they all pointed their weapons at the light gray door. There were also flashing red lights above the door, unlike the rest of the yellow emergency lights down the hall. For many of them, this was their first time dealing with a potential breach. But for Johanson, Shanza, and Cobalt, they dealt with a breach once before.

Just as Officer Bill back at the security room promised, the red lights turned off to signal the end of the quarantine.

"You all know what to do." Lieutenant Johanson muttered as he glanced over his shoulder at the others.

With a nod towards the door from the veteran, Sergeant Shanza approached the door and pressed a red button on the wall, activating the door. It slid open with a soft hum before the sergeant walked in with his shield raised. Corporal Cobalt was close behind him with her smartgun, followed by their lieutenant. Just as planned, the other three officers stayed outside to make sure nothing got in or out.

"Good luck." the shotgunner told the three officers before he shut the door and the red lights began flashing again.

"Quarantine activated. Eggs 97 and 99 have hatched. Caution is advised." Brother's emotionless voice spoke out through the room's loudspeakers.

Red, then darkness. Red, then darkness. The lights flashed brightly between the short stretches of near blackness. To combat the dark, the three officers turned on their flashlights. Johanson and Shanza's lights were attached to their weapons whilst Cobalt's was strapped to her belt on her left side.

The room was massive with a faint blue fog rising from the floor. In rows of six, dark, leathery eggs were resting on metal podiums. Half buried in the artificial mist, they sat still, as if asleep. With the way the eggs were resting throughout the large room, it almost looked like a perverted field of crops.

'I hate going in these rooms.' Nattily Cobalt thought with dread as she scanned the room with her smartgun held from the hip, trying to see if anything was moving for her headset to detect.

The three of them slowly stepped deeper into the room, their weapons slowly fanning this way and that, expecting the worst. They all split up to cover more ground, searching for any signs of life. Johanson was the one who spotted the open eggs. The mucus-covered capsules had their top flaps peeled back like a fleshy flower. The seasoned man aimed down his sight at one of the open eggs as he approached it.

His heart pounded in his chest and he tightly held the grip of his pulse rifle until his knuckles whitened. Yet despite this, he kept his aim steady and he took slow breaths. Once he stood directly in front of the egg, he raised his weapon and leaned forward to look inside. A breath he ddin't even know he was holding in escaped his lips when he saw that there was nothing but mucus inside the egg.

The lieutenant's attention then turned to the other open egg. He was about to peek inside of it when he heard a small curse from the sergeant. Quickly, he and corporal turned to look at Shanza, who was shining his revolver's light down at the floor.

"What is it?" Johanson questioned, his rifle still pointing at the eggs.

"Found the scientists." Shanza replied and he bent down.

Two masked men in white suits were lying on the floor within the blue mist. One of them was lying face down while the other was on his side. He reached a hand to grab the facedown man's shoulder and he very carefully rolled him onto his back to see his face.

"Don't worry. Their faces are clean." the sergeant assured before he stood up.

"Stay with them just in case." Lieutenant Johanson ordered sternly, not wanting anything to harm the defenseless scientists.

"Yessir…" Shanza nodded and he stayed put with his dark eyes dotting around the room.

The lieutenant let out a long exhale through his nose before he turned towards the remaining open egg. He didn't want to do it, but he had to make sure nothing was in there. So, he leaned over the capsule and his face wrinkled at the repulsive smell coming from the egg. He shined his light inside to find nothing. Like the egg before it, there were no organisms within the egg.

As much of a relief as that was, it didn't help the fact that two these things had wandered out before the sleeping gas could get them. But he was sure that they couldn't have gone far. The emergency gas used by the company was enough to put an elephant to sleep.

"Um, Lieutenant.. can you come over here?" Corporal Cobalt requested.

Looking away from the eggs, Johanson noticed his partner standing in the corner of the room, under the room's security camera. Not wanting to waste precious time, the lieutenant quickly walked to the corner of the room with his gun pointed downwards.

Without either of them speaking a word, the corporal pointed down at the floor. Following her finger, the ex-marine looked down at the blue mist. His eyes squinted to try to get a better look, but it was a bit hard with the damned fog. It was great for keeping the eggs from hatching, but it made it really hard to see. So, the lieutenant bent down to one knee and leaned forward a little bit, and his heart sank at what he saw.

The metal floor in the corner had burned away to reveal a hole running through it. The edges of the burned metal looked brittle, as if some kind of acid had burned through. The hole wasn't too big, but he knew it was enough. It was obvious that the burn was recent too since a faint heat radiated from the spot. The test subjects were gone.


	9. Monsters

**Kwai kwai everybody! This chapter will be slightly different than the previous ones. The events of this chapter, or at least, the first scene, take place during the same time as the previous chapter. Hopefully, this will prevent any confusion from arising. Remember to leave a review or send me a PM!**

Chapter 9: Monsters

Silence and isolation could do a lot to a person. Being alone in a cramped space would sometimes bring someone to the extremes of their psychosis. It was a gradual process, but mere minutes could feel like hours when one is separated from the outside world. With nothing but themselves, inner demons could rise up and make people act the way they normally wouldn't, sometimes even violent.

Aaron Makov sat on his cot within the dimly lit containment room. For the past few hours, he had been staring at the white wall in front of him. His expression was blank and his green eyes didn't move once as he eyed the wall. If it wasn't for the gentle rising and falling of his chest, one would think he was a statue or manikin. Not even the occasional tremors from the storm outside could break him from this trance.

And then it came. A long, violent tremor shook the whole building and the lights suddenly shut off. The small room went pitch black and the red light of the camera faded away. It was at that moment that the middle aged man finally moved. He slowly looked up at the ceiling and squinted his eyes, attempting to get used to the darkness. At first, he questioned if his captors purposely turned the lights off, but that proved to be unlikely considering the camera's shutdown.

The Russian-American found himself smiling at his fortunate circumstance. The power must've went out due to the storm, but there was no telling when the power could be restored. Action needed to be taken before that could happen.

Aaron combed his fingers through his dark hair and slowly stood up once he felt like his eyes were well enough adjusted to the dark. It was still hard to see, but he couldn't wait any longer. He turned around at that moment, bent down, and grabbed hold of the cot's metal frame. With a gruff exhale, he dragged the cot towards the corner of the room, the frame's legs screeching against the floor in the process. Once he felt the cot slam against the wall, he released the frame and took deep breaths.

The cot was strategically dragged towards the corner he recalled the air vent's opening to be. He rationalized that it was unlikely for him to be able to use it to escape, but thanks to this convenient storm, he could make use of it. Carefully, he raised his left foot onto the cot's creaking mattress. It was important to apply some pressure to the matt before climbing up so that he was sure it could take his full bodyweight in a single spot. When he was sure that it could without breaking, he hopped up and his hands quickly shot forward to the wall in front of him, preventing himself from falling over.

It was a little difficult to move around in the pitch blackness, but the convict had no choice if he wanted to get out of the repressive cell. Now there was only one thing left to do. Aaron's hand slowly traveled down between his legs and he felt around his crotch. There was no point looking down thanks to the dark, but he soon found what he was looking for.

There was a loose piece of string sticking out of his jumpsuit. It was near his crotch and against his left leg. Aaron pinched the piece of blue string between a finger and thumb before he gently began pulling. As the string was pulled, it undid some of the stitches and revealed a small hole. He quickly discarded the string and spread the torn fabric so he could reach in with his other hand. Two fingers could just barely fit and he searched around until he found something solid. He pulled the small item out of his jumpsuit before he gently felt it with both hands.

This small thing was made of cheap plastic, a toothbrush. The actual brush had been snapped off however and one end was sharpened to a point. It was risky hiding a shiv so close to one's genitals, but that was how he was able to sneak it with him without anyone noticing. It still amazed him that he wasn't caught with a weapon back at Hades V. But now, it had another purpose besides hurting others.

While reaching out with his freehand, Aaron felt the ventilation opening. His fingers gently felt the cold metal grating. It would be a remarkably tight fit, but it was possible to climb inside. But first, he had to take care of the grating that was in the way, and he still didn't know how much time he had. His hand skimmed over the grating until he located one of the edges. Slowly feeling upwards, he smiled when he felt one of the screws holding it in place.

'This thing better not break.' he thought to himself as he raised the makeshift weapon and he pressed the flat edge against the screw.

Aaron Makov began to twist the toothbrush handle over and over again, attempting to loosen the screw. The wobbly piece of metal scraped against the vent as it was loosed and it soon fell onto the cot under him, which muffled the sound of its landing. With a small sigh, his hand dragged towards the right until he found another screw and he continued the process. He repeated this on the last two screws and the grated opening itself fell. This time however, it fell to the floor and crashed against the floor.

There was no telling if anyone heard that or not, but the middle aged man didn't want to take any chances. He quickly raised the shiv up and bit down on it, holding it with his teeth, before he grabbed hold of the vent. A grunt escaped him as he hefted himself up and his feet kicked the air in an attempt to climb up. He winced when his lower ribs smashed against the edge of the vent's opening, but he ignored the pain in his chest and climbed inside. Just as the lights came on again, his legs disappeared into the ventilation system.

* * *

Things were getting hectic within Tower D of the colony. Scientists and security officers speedily searched through the whole building, searching for the two escaped parasites. Not only that, but word had gotten out that one of the prisoners from Hades V had also escaped. Everyone moved here and there like busy worker bees in a hive. In all intents and purposes, it appeared rather chaotic.

Within O'Connell's office, the head scientist was sitting at her desk, the overhead lights blaring their white light above her. Her elbows rested against the desk's metal surface with her head in her palms. This definitely wasn't the first escape that's ever occurred in the colony, but the previous ones were always immediately taken care of. A specimen has never even left their holding room before being stopped.

Not knowing where the two escapees were was taking its toll on the woman. She hadn't anticipated the little parasites to escape the room. If anything, she anticipated the two scientists to become the parasites' victims, yet they were ignored and who knows where. And then there was the issue involving the escaped prisoner. Aaron Makov, the one man she didn't want stirring up trouble. All the other scientists thought little of a single prisoner, but she knew not to underestimate him. She worked with these non-human creatures on a daily basis, but she was never scared of them. Aaron however, he was terrifying to her, as much as she didn't want to admit it.

For Doctor O'Connell's own protection, two security officers were stationed to guard her room outside. Both armed with pulse rifles, no man could enter her room without approval, but that didn't fill her with much confidence. Especially since those parasites could just melt their way into her room if they were desperate enough.

A chill ran up Jenny's spine and she looked up at the vent on the ceiling. She had half a mind to get an engineer to weld a sheet of metal to it, but that would cut off the airflow. Her hazel eyes didn't move away from the vent. It made her feel like if she looked away, one of those spidery bastards would leap out and latch onto her. It was strange, they never looked all that scary while they were behind bulletproof glass.

The sound of sliding metal made her let out a startled gasp and she nearly fell out of her leather seat. The door on the opposite end of the room opened to reveal Doctor Sarvez. The tall man slid his hands into his lab coat's pockets as he stepped into the room and the door immediately closed behind him. The head scientist found herself glaring at him. She couldn't understand how he could appear so calm in a time like this.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." Boris apologized while he approached her desk.

"Have you found the specimens yet?" she demanded irritably and she leaned back against the chair's backrest.

Doctor Sarvez let out a sigh and shook his head before he sat down in the chair in front of her desk, his hands leaving his pockets in the process. It may not have shown on his face, but he was just as unnerved by the day's recent events. Hiding emotions was simply a skill he acquired when he was young.

"We've found no trace of them. But on the bright side, no one's been one of their victims either." he informed her.

"If they got anyone, then we'd know where they were, wouldn't we?" she asked sharply with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Doctor O'Connell, I actually give a damn about the lives of our employees. I'm gonna find the specimens without anyone getting hurt." he shot back.

There really was no end to their disagreements, it seemed. Both doctors had drastically different styles upon handling certain situations. Boris knew it, and so did Jenny. But even if she didn't say it, O'Connell actually appreciated that. She personally filled out the paperwork to get him this job as her second in command. It was her belief that if someone who openly disagreed with her in a respectful manner worked with her, then situations like this could be handled more professionally. Her main inspiration for this style of leadership for the colony's science division was President Abraham Lincoln and his vice president, Andrew Johnson from the American Civil War.

The head scientist sighed and shook those thoughts away. She had no time to think of ancient history right now. Two parasites and a killer were running free in her colony. A hand rose to her forehead and she rubbed her temples while her freehand rested on her lap.

"Any news on Makov?" she asked tiredly.

"Nothing yet." Boris answered regrettably.

"Then why did you bother to come in here?" Jenny asked a little angrily and she moved her hand away.

"I want to know how you know this guy. This Makov. You referred to him by name just by looking at a picture of him." Doctor Sarvez stated and he leaned forwards a little bit. "I refuse to be kept in the dark on this matter. Especially when you've never kept secrets from me until now." he added sternly.

The head scientist had to resist the urge to groan. She didn't want to talk about that man at all, but something told her that Boris wouldn't take "no" for an answer. He never had before.

"We used to work together on a planet called Thedus. We… we were doing research on cloning. You know, cloning people." Doctor O'Connell hesitantly answered.

"Used to?" Boris questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Look, I had no say in what he did, but he killed a few people in secret to get his research. The project was discontinued and I kept his notes before handing it off to the company." she explained with a distressed look.

"And you're afraid that if he finds out you're in charge here, he might try to get to you. Is that it?" Doctor Sarvez hypothesized with a straight face.

The head scientist nodded slowly at his and she slumped her shoulders. Normally, she went out of her way to look professional, but these unfortunate events recently were really making her stressed. In all honestly, this was the most frightened he's ever seen her.

Boris took a deep breath before he stood up again. Slowly, he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small, boxy looking pistol. The gun had a small clip hanging from the front of the trigger guard and the metal exterior was pitch black. Jenny stared at the gun as the tall man before her slid the gun across the desk to her. She audibly gulped before speaking.

"What is that?" she asked a bit shakily, not knowing much about guns.

"It's a laser pistol. I carry it around whenever I go out to get more hosts." Boris answered as he stepped away from the desk and he watched her pick up the rather heavy weapon. "I have it in case my ship is boarded by space pirates, but I think you should have it. Just until all of this is over. All you have to do is aim and squeeze the trigger." he added.

Both scientists went silent. He stood by her desk for a long, awkward, while before he finally turned around and headed for the exit. O'Connell looked down at the weapon before she looked back up at the man by the door, which had just opened.

"But… what about you?" O'Connell asked, making the man stop at the door.

"What about me?" he asked.

"Won't you need protection?" she clarified.

"Hm. Don't worry about me." the tall man replied dismissively.

"Thank you." she said quietly.

"You're welcome." Doctor Sarvez answered without looking at her before walking out, leaving her alone in her office.

* * *

Tower D was not the only place in the colony that was active. The other buildings were also rifling with activity, thanks to the ongoing storm. On the twenty fifth floor down in Tower C, a group of two engineers and a professional diver were given an important assignment. Despite the tremors and the hurricane above, they were told to go outside.

These three were in an airlock that would lead them outside. Each of them was donning a deep sea diving suit that could withstand pressure from six hundred meters below sea level. The suits were big and bulky, yes, but they offered maximum protection, even in unfavorable weather conditions. It almost looked like they were wearing white and green colored space suits, except the exterior surface appeared more rubbery than fabric. Large packs were attached to the back of the diving suits that supplied the wearer with oxygen as well as thrusters for faster travel.

Michael was wearing one of these suits. The synthetic stood a little bit behind the other two divers. The human to his left was carrying a waterproof box, most likely holding tools, while the other carried a small harpoon gun. The weapon was seldom used and was meant for emergencies, such as them being attacked by an undiscovered organism native to the planet. The three of them felt comfortable diving because there was little possibility of being attacked, but it didn't hurt to be prepared.

Meanwhile, the synthetic looked down at the device he held in his right hand. It appeared to be a paint gun, but the canister hanging from the nozzle was actually filled with cement rather than paint. And in his freehand, he was holding a brush to wipe away gravel and dirt. The reason why they were going outside was to fix a leakage outside.

"Is everybody ready to go?" the person with the harpoon spoke with a clearly feminine voice.

Each of them had an earpiece in their left ear, which allowed them to communicate with each other. So once they were in the water, they would still be able to freely talk to one another. But because of the storm, there was a possibility for interference, but that was extremely unlikely unless they were far apart from each other.

"Yeah, the sooner we get this done, the better." the repairman with the toolbox replied with a slight shrug of his shoulders.

"And you, Michael?" the woman asked and she held her gloved hand up to the release button on the wall.

"Affirmative." the older looking engineering droid confirmed

With that, the harpoon woman pressed her palm against the button and yellow lights began flashing from above them. As the lights flashed, the door behind them slid closed and locked.

"Warning! Entering the ocean during current conditions may be hazardous! Please exercise caution!" the monotone voice of Brother blurted out through the loudspeakers.

The airlock's door in front of them began to open at that point. The metal opening gradually slid upwards and salty water quickly flooded into the small room. The metal plating on the bottom of the diving suits' boots had a special feature about them. Electric magnets were planted to the soles of their feet, which allowed them to stand their ground even as the water rushed past them.

Once the door was fully open, the room was completely flooded with water and the ocean's blue horizon was open to them. Almost in unison, the three of them reached for a small switch on their chests that deactivated the magnets at the bottom of their boots. Then the thrusters on their packs automatically activated and they all gently jumped so that they could freely move forward. This was all done thanks to the control of a few manual operators back in the tower. Their suits doubled as robots, which could be controlled manually with a joystick. And with the small camera attached to their bulky helmets, the operators could see everything that was taking place, as well as see the wearer's vitals via a heads up display back in the control room.

"So… is anyone gonna ask?" the repairman questioned as they went.

"Ask what?" Michael inquired, but he had a feeling what the answer would be.

"Why we're going to Tower D. What else?" the man sharply replied.

"It's not like we're actually going into the tower. Just outside of it. And I told you, they have a leak they can't quite patch, so we're going to fix it up." the harpoon woman explained simply.

As if on cue, the lights of Tower D came into their field of view. It was a little hard to see with all the dust particles being tossed around thanks to the storm, but the massive surface of the building was visible. There must've been a strong gust of wind above, because the water seemed to push at the three divers from the left, which slightly knocked them off course. Thankfully, the thrusters shifted slightly and they quickly straightened up again.

"Christ…" the woman mumbled under her breath, obviously not liking this anymore than they were.

If there was anything to be grateful for, it was for the lack of maneuverability in regards to the helmet. The big helmet was firmly connected to the rest of the suit, so it wouldn't move even if their heads turned. This was usually a big problem, but Michael considered it a small blessing at the moment. The planet's ocean was a thousand times deeper than the oceans of Earth. The pressure was so intense towards the bottom that the water molecules solidified and formed ice seven, a specific type of ice. So underneath the three of them was probably what appeared to be a bottomless abyss. Michael was so glad that his suit didn't let him look down.

While they moved forward, the thrusters adjusted as the water swayed this way and that. The surface of the massive building drew closer and closer until they were but a few meters from the tower. From this distance, Michael noted that horizontal beams stuck out between stories. He and the male human slowly moved down and onto one of these beams. When their feet planted on the metal surface, they activated their magnetic boots. Meanwhile, the diver with the harpoon turned around and she bent her knees so her feet pressed against the wall. This was so that she'd have a slight bit more maneuverability in case of an emergency.

"Never thought I'd be this closer to Tower D…" the repairman thought aloud and he looked over at his synthetic partner.

"Just do your jobs, please. Today was supposed to be my day off." the harpoon woman cut in with mild annoyance.

"Funny. Same thing." Michael remarked, remembering how he was called in on his way to see Angela. "Anyway, I see the leakage." he stated.

At about waist height, a long crack could be seen running diagonally along the wall. There was some algae and dirt around it however. So, he raised the brush in his left hand and began to gently sweep it left and right along the crack. This picked up the gravel however and it formed a small cloud in front of the two engineers, much to the human's annoyance. Michael was patient however and he waited for the cloud to move away before continuing.

"What do you think, Mike?" the repairman asked, referring to the leak.

"If I had to guess, I'd say this crack has been here for a while. It's not uncommon for cracks like this to form, but I doubt it was deep enough for water to get through. The storm probably spread it just enough to cause the leakage." he calmly explained and he clipped the brush to his suit's belt.

"Can you fix it?" the diver with the harpoon questioned as she spotted a school of fish rapidly swimming away, probably because of the storm.

"Temporarily. I will need to check it more thoroughly after the hurricane. But for now, I will apply cement to the crack and at least plug it for now." the synthetic replied.

After saying that, Michael raised his cement gun and held the nozzle up to the bottom of the leakage. Upon squeezing the trigger, some tar-like cement shot into the crack. He slowly worked his way up as the repairman opened his box to retrieve a spade. But when he bent down to retrieve the tool, he spotted a fish that was native to the planet.

The rather large fish was lying on its side upon the beam they were standing on. The creature was probably half the size of a man and it had an impressively large jaw. Its scales were bright blue and yellow, but also red with blood from under its head and along its stomach. it was obvious that the fish was dead, probably killed by a larger fish. The whole stomach area was practically missing. The repairman just shrugged it off and looked up at his partner to see how his work was going.

As the two of them worked, the diver lazily looked around the ocean and the various clouds of gravel that rapidly flowed around. But then a shadow caught her attention. It was too far away to see clearly, but it had a very long body. The creature had to have been an eel of some kind, which actually did exist on this planet. She paid it little mind, but when she turned away for just a moment, it was gone.

"The crack is almost filled. Very little water, if any at all, should be getting through now." Michael informed everyone. "We're almost done." he added.

Both engineers jumped and the repairman actually dropped his toolbox when an ear-piercing scream erupted through their earpieces. The two of them turned their bodies the best they could to see a long, eel-like creature in front of their diver escort. However, the creature wasn't entirely an eel. The creature had an obvious head and shoulders. The water was too thick with gravel clouds to see any details, but it had a long head, long spines on its back, a barbed tail, and two bladed arms. The arms almost resembled that of a praying mantis or a mantis shrimp.

One of these bladed arms were outstretched and upon closer inspection, it was clearly through the diver's stomach and the bladed tip was sticking through her back. She cried for help and roared in agony as the shadowy monster shot its other arm forward at lightning speed. This limb didn't stab her however; instead, it pinched her right shoulder between its joints and crushed down to pin her in place like a mantis with its prey.

The repairman was too scared stiff to do anything, but Michael raised his cement gun to try to strike the creature. However, before he could even attempt to hit it, the monster shot upwards and the diver's screams crackled until nothing but static remained, then nothing at all. It was only then that the two engineers noticed that her legs, which were still magnetically attached to the wall, were all that remained. Clouds of red erupted out of the severed legs as the two engineers stared in disbelief.

"What… what the fuck!?" the repairman cried hysterically, his whole body shaking underneath his suit.

"We need to leave. Now." Michael stated calmly, but deep down, he was immensely scared. "Deactivate your magnets. We need to get back to Tower C." he instructed.

"R-right…" the repairman nodded from within his helmet.

Quickly, they reached for their magnets' switches and flicked them, which deactivated their magnets. The operators back in the control room must've agreed, for their thrusters immediately activated and they slowly made their way back from the way they came. However as soon as they started moving, a loud schreach was heard, but thanks to being in the ocean's chaotic currents, it was unclear where it came from.

Michael looked to his right just in time to see a second one of those creatures shoot up from below. The black blades of its arms pinched down on the repairman and he wailed in horror and pain as he was whisked away to the darkness of the ocean. Just like the diver, his screams were replaced by static, and then silence. Only a trail of bubbles and specs of red blood remained in his place.

The synthetic felt something he wasn't even sure his kind could feel, terror. He was afraid that these creatures would come for him next. And these damned thrusters were moving at an agonizingly slow pace. Shaky breaths escaped his lips as he looked around as much as his helmet's field of view would allow. But while most people probably would be panicking in his predicament, he still kept a rather calm looking composure and his movements were slow despite being a sitting duck out in the open.

But what were these things? He's been out diving several times to repair leaks and rusty piping, yet nothing like these monsters have ever appeared before now. Would these creatures even be interested in hunting a synthetic like himself? Could they tell he was a human?

"Please hurry…" he spoke quietly into his earpiece, hoping for whoever was operating his suit would get him to safety.

It felt like ages, but when he finally reached the open airlock of Tower C, the thrusters shifted so his feet landed on the metal surface. He took a few slow steps forward so he was fully inside and he pressed his hand against the button on the wall. Like last time, yellow lights began flashing and the airlock's door began to slide shut at an agonizingly slow pace.

As the room's floodgates that underlined the bottom of the room's walls opened, the water began to descend and shoot out back into the ocean. The water slowly lowered and he was safe, but images of what he just saw flashed through Michael's mind. The more he thought about it, the more he recalled that one book he found in the trash can some weeks ago. Space Beast, he remembered it was called. The creature was different than the monster in the book, but each sported what looked like a barbed tail and an almost phallic shaped head. Could the two creatures that attacked his partners be dragons?


	10. Dirty Little Secrets

**Kwai kwai nidobak! IJ appreciate all the reviews and responses you readers have been giving me. I'm just sorry it takes so long to update this story. But you've all been patient with me, so thank you. Remember to leave a review or send me a PM!**

Chapter 10: Dirty Little Secrets

Fear is a natural part of life. Every living thing can feel the emotion of terror and dread, not just humans. It's what triggers the coined "fight or flight" mindset that living organisms feel. Even artificial humans had these emotions programmed into them; the legal ones anyway. Michael, the engineering synthetic, was no exception to this rule of nature.

Tower C held an entire section dedicated to the security of the civilian zones of the colony. Many officers were busy at work monitoring the whole colony, making sure no one decided to take advantage of the occasional blackouts the storm caused. But something different was happening in one of the offices within this sector.

A rather cozy looking office room with a patterned rug and nice, wooden furniture, and pulled down window shades, was occupied by two men. One of which was Michael. The engineer was sitting in the seat on the other end of the occupied desk and he was wearing his usual work jumpsuit. A human wearing an all-black dress suit with the company's logo on the breast pocket was sitting at the desk. This man had slanted eyes, combed back hair, and a look of age.

Both of them were completely silent. The synthetic patiently watched as the human typed into his computer. He couldn't see it, but the well-dressed man was sending private messages to a woman in Tower D, Doctor O'Connell. He had been informing her on what the engineer had just reported and the incident with the other two divers. But every time he tried to gather information from the woman, she would refuse to answer. Feeling frustrated, he sent her another message.

 **Chief Onlan: What should I do with the AP?**

 **Doctor O'Connell: Tell it that everything it's seen is classified.**

 **Chief Onlan: And the two victims?**

 **Doctor O'Connell: Their cause of death is also classified.**

Chief Onlan, the man in the black suit, felt his hands clench into fists from these responses. All this cloak and dagger wasn't why he signed up for this job. But orders were orders. The smallest of sighs escaped his lips as he rested his elbows on the table and he looked at the seemingly unemotional synthetic. If things were up to either of them, they'd warn everyone of the possible danger out there in the ocean.

"I'm sorry, Michael, but I've been told that we need to keep this little incident between us." the chief stated with some regret in his voice.

This wasn't really surprising to the artificial person, but it was frustrating all the same. And it wasn't like he could disobey the company that created him. He stared at the chief with a blank expression and simply nodded.

"I understand." he stated blankly.

"Good." Chief Onlan said before he stood up.

The human rubbed the back of his neck as he stretched his back, which caused the bones to pop. It felt good to stretch, especially since he's been sitting in that damned seat for the whole day. A sudden tremor from the hurricane outside nearly caused him to fall over however, but he quickly caught himself by resting a hand against a nearby coat hanger.

"Are you alright, sir?" Michael asked and he quickly stood up, to which the human held up his hand.

"I'm fine." he assured and he was able to stand normally again once the shaking ceased. "Now, I want you to keep this little incident to yourself. You can take the rest of the day off, but-"

"I won't tell anyone about the attack. I just hope you write a letter to the families of the deceased." the android replied.

"You may go now." Chief Onlan stated quickly, if not a bit awkwardly.

Michael didn't reply to this. He quietly turned around and made his way out of the room. It was disgusting to him that two highly dangerous creatures were out there and nothing was being done to stop them. Those monsters could pierce the diving suits he and the others wore, which both impressed and terrified him.

At first, the synthetic considered making his way to hydroponics to visit Angela, but then something important occurred to him. The two monsters that attacked his group during the dive greatly resembled the dragons from Robert Morse's work, Space Beast. But the creature in the book was dog-like and seemed to be a land-based predator. The creature that attacked him outside was obviously aquatic. This was troubling in the android's mind. Was it possible that the dog creatures could be here too?

The engineer took a sharp right suddenly and sped up his walking speed a little. It was true that he had to keep everything quiet about the incident, but he, like all synthetics, were programmed to do everything they could to protect humans and that was exactly what he was going to do.

Passing through a few hallways and down some stairs, Michael found his way to one of the many bridges that led to Tower B, which was where he and Angela worked. Like the bridges to the forbidden Tower D, this bridge had a spherical outline to it. The walls and ceiling were transparent while bright lights shone from beneath the floor grating. Others were making their way down the bridge too as he walked, but Michael constantly looked out into the blue ocean outside, keeping his eyes sharp and alert. He never once thought this before today, but being out and exposed on this bridge made him feel so uneasy. A few times, he thought he saw the creatures moving around out there, but it was just the occasional fish or other similar sea creature. Nothing like what he saw before.

Eventually, the synthetic made it to the other side of the bridge, which felt like forever. Only when he actually entered Tower B did he feel at least somewhat safe. But there was still more to do and, in his mind, no time to waste. With a quickened step in his pace, he walked to the elevator and took it down to the engineering deck, where he worked. Now, he knew he was given the day off, but there was something he needed to do.

A few of the engineers who recognized the artificial person greeted him as he walked by. He was polite and greeted them back, but he didn't stop to chat with them. Soon, he found his way to one of the many storerooms and opened the metal door. To his relief, no one was inside. He stepped in and the door slid shut. The lights automatically turned on once the sensors picked up movement and he slowly looked around the room.

There were various different tools spread out in the storeroom, hence its name. This was actually the same room where he got his cement gun from earlier and he could see it lazily leaning against a wall, outside of its storage box. For now though, the synthetic ignored the tool. He glanced at the wall of various power tools, but decided against grabbing any. Instead, he noticed an open crate in the corner of the room. The crate wasn't too large, just barely reaching his knees.

When he looked inside, he saw quite a few plasma torches that were still in their packaging. The tools appeared to be cylinders with one end slightly bent, which was were the flame came out of, These must've been the new shipment he was informed of. The colony was large and it often required various repairs, which was why these tools were needed.

Michael reached into the crate and pulled out two plasma torches before he tucked them under his left arm. Next, he walked over to the power tools and glanced at the table under them. A few saws were resting on the plastic surface, but an empty paint gun, about the size of a large pistol, was also left abandoned. Carefully, the synthetic pushed the various saws off the table, which made them clang against the tiled floor as they fell. Once there was more space, he set the two torches down on the table, next to the paint gun.

'I think this will work.' he thought to himself and he easily tore the tools out of their packages, also tossing them aside.

This was the synthetic's first time doing something like this, but he didn't think it'd be too hard. Hell, if the danger wasn't so real, he might've actually had fun doing this. Holding the paint gun up, he grabbed one of the torches and held it up to the device's nozzle, however he was unsatisfied by how far the torch was from the nozzle. Mentally cursing to himself, he set down the tools and walked over to a drawer to his right. He grabbed the drawer's metal handle and pulled it outwards to show some metal pipes of various sizes. His finger traced through the pipes until he found one about thirty centimeters in length.

Michael didn't bother closing the drawer again and he walked over to the table once more. He wasn't sure how much time alone he had, for he knew he'd draw suspicion if anyone saw what he was doing. Taking one of the diamond coated power saws, he sawed the pipe, causing sparks to fly out in all directions, to about half its length before he set the saw down again.

Now that he was satisfied with the length of the pipe, the dark haired android put on some tinted safety goggles and lit one of the two handheld plasma torches. He was thankful that everyone was so busy because of the storm. Otherwise, someone probably would've investigated the noises he was making. He pushed the thoughts of being discovered away and he slid the pipe over the paint gun's nozzle before he held the blue flame up to the end of the pipe. More sparks flew out as the metals welded together, effectively elongating the barrel. Once that was done he grabbed the other plasma torch and pressed it against the underside of the other end of the pipe before welding it in place.

Satisfied with his work so far, the engineer deactivated the torch. Carefully, he set down the Frankenstein's monster of a paint gun on the table. There was one last thing he needed to do. These paint guns needed to be loaded with small tanks filled with paint. In the back of the room, there were several of these tanks that were empty at the moment. Not only that, but there was also a large propane tank to the side of the room, which was used to power several tools.

Michael chose to fill three of these cans with propane instead of paint. He also used their safety tops to plug two of the tanks so none of the fuel could be released. Once done, he brought the tanks back over to the table and he twisted the unplugged tank into place on the paint gun. The tank was located just in front of the bright red trigger. With a straight face, the engineer held up his creation and looked it over, checking for any faults in his design.

'And there we have it. A flamethrower. Prolonged release of fire may melt the metal at the end of the barrel, so I should stick to small bursts if I can.' the synthetic thought to himself.

With his task complete, the engineer carried the makeshift flamethrower and the two backup tanks to one of the seating benches in the center of the room, which were near a few lockers. He set the items down on the bench and opened a rusty locker with his name in bold on the door. Inside, there were a few extra jumpsuits and a gray duffel bag that he sometimes used to carry tools.

'Perfect.' he thought to himself upon pulling the bag out into the open.

The bag was about the length of his arm and it had an adjustable strap stitched onto it. Quickly, Michael unzipped the back and opened it. At the moment, it only had a few t-shirts inside, but that was fine to him. Without taking the clothes out, he quickly stuffed the two tanks and the flamethrower into the bag before zipping the bag closed. He had little faith in the company keeping whatever might've been out there in the ocean under control. The probability of those things attacking more innocents was high, so he wanted to be armed to defend any humans in case that happened, especially Angela. He wasn't even sure if fire could hurt these creatures, but at the very least, he hoped that they were afraid of fire.

Slinging the duffel bag over his shoulder, Michael made his way to the room's exit and manually turned the lights off as the door opened. He took one last glance into the room before he walked out and the door slammed shut.

* * *

A manhunt was taking place in Tower D. All of the security officers within the massive science facility were given full briefings of the current situation. The two escaped subjects had been spotted outside in a form that no one was familiar with. It was rather troubling, but there was still the fact that one of the prisoners from Hades V was on the loose somewhere. Everyone was told to look out for a middle aged Caucasian male wearing a blue prison jumpsuit.

Being the loyal soldiers they were, security searched up and down the tower for the elusive man. This was the first time any host has escaped confinement. It was crucial that this host was found before anything bad were to happen. If he somehow escaped to another tower or somehow off world, then the results would look very bad on the colony. And in turn, the company itself.

Bill, the security officer within Security Room C7, was watching the various security monitors. This room's security was focused primarily on non-human subjects however, except on very rare occasions. His task was specifically to make sure that no other subject escaped containment. To him, this job was much more important than chasing some felon throughout the facility.

The overweight officer had his elbow on his desk with his chin resting on the palm of his hand. Despite his laid back appearance, he did take his job very seriously. His eyes constantly darted from monitor to monitor. Even with the brewing storm outside, all the subjects seemed rather calm, like usual.

The hum of the door opening drew his attention. The bright lights from outside the door beamed into the rather dark room and he quickly glanced over to see who had come to bother him. He raised an eyebrow however when there was no one at the doorway. He waited a few moments before he let out a scoff and stood up.

"Damn wiring actin' up again." Bill mumbled to himself.

The security officer walked over to the door and pressed his palm against the button on the panel nearby. This caused the door to gently slide shut again. Shaking his head, he walked back over to his chair and sat down. A small sigh escaped his nose as he looked over the monitors again.

There wasn't much time to get back to work however. The door hummed open again once more not two seconds after sitting down. Bill cursed in annoyance and stood up once again to close the damn thing. He could only reason that the storm somehow knocked some wires loose or something. He wasn't a technician, he didn't know.

Once he approached the doorway, he raised his hand to press the button again. A blue and tan blur rushed forward suddenly and an excruciating pain enveloped his left eye. But before he could scream, something strong pressed against his mouth. He tried to scream through the obstruction, but it was muffled and he felt himself being pushed onto the ground with something heavy on top of him. Whatever had pierced his eye was forced deeper. He tried screaming for help and even bit whatever was covering his mouth, but it wouldn't budge. Eventually, his vision darkened and he went still.

Aaron Makov looked down at Bill's corpse with a straight face. His hand was pressed over the dead man's lips, even with his palm bleeding from being bitten. The convict saw no point in pulling his plastic shiv out of the corpse's eye socket, so he released the weapon and calmly stood up.

The Russian American wordlessly closed the door behind him and stepped over the dead body to inspect the room. He noticed the various security monitors and the computer on the desk. The bloodied hand he used to cover Bill's mouth raised up to his chin as he watched a few shadowy creatures with tails and long heads being held in some holding cells. The screens were too fuzzy to see clearly however, which was a minor annoyance, but something else caught his attention. His green eyes were locked on a screen that displayed a lone man restrained to a medical bed. Even with the bad quality, he could still tell that that the man in that room was Linwood.

'Perhaps I should help you out, friend.' he thought to himself.

Aaron sat down at that moment and cracked his knuckles before he brought up the computer's command prompt. Each monitor was labeled with a number or letter, so he began to type in some codes at a fast pace. the keys clicked with each typed letter and number. Once by one, the codes were entered in on the computer.

 **Xenomorph Holding Cell B1 released… …EXTREME CAUTION ADVISED!**

 **Xenomorph Holding Cell B2 released… …EXTREME CAUTION ADVISED!**

 **Xenomorph Holding Cell B3 released… …EXTREME CAUTION ADVISED!**

 **Xenomorph Holding Cell B4 released… …EXTREME CAUTION ADVISED!**

 **Egg Holding Chamber D released… …EXTREME CAUTION ADVISED!**

 **Egg Holding Chamber E released… …EXTREME CAUTION ADVISED!**

 **Patient Holding Room released… …EXTREME CAUTION ADVISED!**

A small, slight second smile rose from Aaron's lips before he stood up again. He doubted he'd have long before whatever these things were became active. Without a moment to waste, the convict stepped over the dead body on the floor and exited the room. Alarms began blaring as soon as the cells were released and bright yellow lights flashed throughout the area, but they were ignored.

Aaron walked at a fast pace down the hall and took a left, then another left. Gunfire could be heard in the distance, which just quickened the man's step. Eventually, he found the a room marked as Patient Holding Room. Upon opening the door and stepping inside, the escapee found himself in a small observation room with a massive window covering most of the wall. On the other side of the window, Linwood was unconscious and strapped to the same bed from the monitor. And right next to the window, there was a metal door that led inside.

Soft snoring caught Aaron's attention. To his left, a young security officer was sitting at the computer desk with his head resting on his crossed arms. Despite the blaring alarms, this man was still sleeping.

'Where does the company find these people?' Makov thought to himself and he shook his head.

Without even attempting to be quiet, Aaron approached the officer and reached for his holster. Without much effort, he pulled the revolver out of the leather pouch and pointed it at the man's head before squeezing the trigger. The flash of the gun briefly lit the room as the bullet left a hole in the side of the officer's head, which left a large blood splatter against the wall and on the computer monitor.

Aaron felt no pity for the officer. Still holding the handgun, he made his way to the closed door and with the press of a button, it hummed open. Unlike the rest of the level they were on, this room had no flashing lights or alarms. It was possible that the room was soundproof, the convict thought to himself. But there was no time to think about that.

Linwood was still asleep, possibly drugged. Unlike the unfortunate officer into the other room, Makov had no intention of executing him. Instead, he set the revolver down on the bed and undid the tight bonds that kept the bald man in place. Once the restraints were unbuckled, Aaron smiled at his work and picked up his new revolver again.

"Good luck, Mr. Stevenson. May we meet again." he said politely before he simply turned and left, leaving the unconscious man on the bed.


	11. Solus

**Kwai kwai everyone! It pleases me that I managed to write this chapter so quickly, considering my pattern of taking long breaks between chapters. I hope you all enjoy the read. Remember to leave a review or send me a PM!**

Chapter 11: Solus

Over fifty six million kilometers away from the planet Earth, a red planet orbited around the solar system's star. Mars, the fourth planet from the sun and one of the first celestial bodies humans ever colonized, was very slowly rotating through space. Leo Colony was one of the largest colonies on the red planet.

Various metal buildings stood up on the flat plane it was built on, yet a thick wall surrounded the colony to protect the residents from dust storms. Being within the Tharsis region, the colony was shadowed over by Pavonis Mons, a now inactive volcano. The sky above the colony was a rich butterscotch color while the sun shined brightly despite the brownish gray clouds that occasionally blocked its gaze.

The oxygen levels on the planet have greatly risen, thanks to the involvement of terraforming. It was perfectly safe to be outside without any assistance, but that didn't change the fact that the planet's atmosphere was tremendously cold. If one were to go outside, it was best to wear multiple layers of clothing. But the fact that humans could survive on the planet was thanks to Wayland-Yutani's colonization program.

Leo Colony housed a population of over 22,000,000 people. Since it was midday, many people were working while the children attended school. Around the outskirts of the colony, near the massive wall, two individuals were walking together while they held hands. One was a man and the other was a woman. The two of them were bundled up in thick clothes to protect them from the cold climate of the red planet, yet their heads were fully exposed.

The couple made small talk and occasionally laughed while they made their way down a gravel walkway towards the nearby shipping lane. Both were holding traveling bags and the man even had a backpack on. Where they were planning on going wasn't clear, but what mattered was that they wanted off Mars.

As the couple walked and moved past the occasional tourist, a man suddenly stepped out from behind one of the tall buildings close by. This man was wearing a thick, blue coat with the hood pulled over his head, making it hard to see his face. White mist appeared over his shadowed over face as he exhaled into the cold air. In his gloved hand, he tightly clenched onto the handle of a kitchen knife.

The hooded man stood there silently and watched the couple, as if contemplating what to do. However, he stood there for no more than ten seconds before he suddenly started running towards the happy couple. From the sound of his heavy footsteps, the woman looked over her shoulder to see the rushing man and let out a horrified scream. Her partner noticed the attacker and attempted to shield the woman, but was awarded with the knife being sliced across his throat. His eyes widened in horror and he began to gurgle as he fell to the ground. Red blood spurted from his neck as he lied on the ground with the hooded man standing over him. The woman just kept screaming for help before she too was silenced and the local police force rushed to the scene with their weapons at the ready…

* * *

Linwood's brown eyes widened suddenly as he let out a startled gasp. The quick beating of his heart practically echoed in his ears as he let out heavy breaths. He quickly raised a hand to his forehead and he let out heavy breaths. His body was in a cold sweat and the air felt cold.

The bald man was confused. Where was he? His eyes darted around the light room he was in and his shoulders slumped. It was clear now. He remembered where he was. Aipaloovik VII; the ocean world where he had been cut open against his will. But something was different. But what?

His hands! The inmate looked down at his hands to see that they were no longer restrained. When he rose up his upper body, he was pleased to see that his ankles were also free. The leather cuffs were uselessly hanging from the side of the medical bed he was on. Not only that, but there were no silhouettes in the nearby window, and the door leading presumably to that room was open.

"What the fuck…?" Linwood thought aloud with a hoarse voice and he swung his legs over the side of the bed.

When his bare feet touched the tiled floor, the bald man flinched and quickly raised his legs again. He sighed and tried to rest his feet against the floor again, this time expecting the cold, before he stood up. All he was wearing was a medical gown that was an aqua color. There were thick laces tied around his waist and around his neck to keep the garment in place. But other than that, he was completely naked. A deep frown plastered his face when he felt the cold air against his backside, but he had no way to cover it. It was his wish to get some normal clothes as soon as possible, but first, he had to figure out what the hell was going on.

Still tired from whatever drugs he had been exposed to, the inmate stumbled towards the open doorway and into the other room, which was just as cold as whatever cell he had been put in. Something wasn't right however. The air smelled wrong and tasted of iron. Upon looking to his right, the source of the strange smell and taste was revealed. The corpse of an officer was slumped over the office desk. Blood was splashed onto the nearby wall and the monitor in front of the corpse. And what was worse, some flies were buzzing around the corpse.

Linwood felt repulsed by this macabre site. Bile quickly rose up his throat, but he managed to swallowed to keep it down. He raised a hand over his mouth and nose before he stormed out of the room and into the hallway outside. He gasped for air once outside and he rested his hands on his knees. He may be no stranger to death, but he despised dead bodies. Seeing a still, lifeless body filled him with unease.

The sound of alarms blared through the hallway he was in and the inmate looked up finally to see that yellow lights were flashing upon the ceiling. The main lights had also dimmed slightly, which made the hall appear darker whenever the alarm lights went out. When the bald man looked either way he could go, both sides appeared the same, almost like he was a mouse in a maze. Something was wrong. That was no secret.

"WARNING! ALL LOCAL TEST CHAMBERS RELEASED! EVACUATE THE AREA IMMEDIATELY!" the robotic voice of Brother echoed through the halls

That definitely didn't sound good. Groaning softly, the inmate turned right and began to walk. He didn't like how cold the tiled floor was and he gently rested his hand against the metal wall while he walked. He only managed to walk a short distance when he gasped and clenched his head with his freehand. His head started pounding; he felt a throbbing pain right behind his eyes. He felt this feeling once before, but why was it happening all of a sudden. He was never prone to headaches before he came to this god forsaken place.

"My… head…" he grunted and fell to his knees. "What… did you bastards do to me…" he growled.

A loud clang suddenly gained the man's attention. An echoed banging noise rang down the hall from somewhere behind him and he shakily looked over to see what it was. The hallway was empty however, yet the clanging sounded as if it was getting closer. His heart thumped in his chest as his eyes darted around, trying to find the source of the sound. Finally, he felt the instinct to look up.

Not only were there the lights on the ceiling, but there was also the barred grating of an air duct. He squinted his watery eyes to see something dark moving. His heart practically skipped a beat when he saw the creature. It was the same type of creature that the doctor sicked on him whenever he was last awake, he was sure of it. Were these the subjects that voice spoke of earlier?

This monster noisily made its way towards him via the bent, its claws clanging against the metal as it moved. But it stopped once it was directly above him. Linwood let out quick, fearful breaths as he stared at the creature. Despite how dark it was, he could just barely see its silver teeth snarling at him. It knew he was there. And as it seemed to stare at him, his headache pounded in his head with vicious tenacity.

A slow, inhuman growl echoed out from the creature. Then, as soon as it arrived, the creature speedily bolted down the vent and it turned to the left at the intersection. Linwood just stared with horror in the direction the monster left. Its scraping claws slowly faded away as the creature moved further and further away until there was nothing but the sound of the alarms. But strangely enough, his headache went away after the creature left.

The convict finally let out that breath he hadn't even realized he was holding in. Sweat slid down his face and onto the cold floor. With shaky legs, he managed to stand up again. He wanted to leave before that creature decided to come back for him, but there was no way in hell he'd go the same way it was heading.

Without any hesitation, Linwood slowly turned right and began to walk down the new hall. He didn't even bother to check the sign to see where he was going, he just wanted to leave. Was that creature why there was no one around? He remembered two of them in the same room as him the last time he was awake. But that didn't explain that dead guy's bullet wound earlier. That thing was definitely the same type of creature from before. Try as he may, he couldn't understand why or how they got out of their cells.

'It isn't safe here. I need to find a place to hide or something.' he thought to himself.

The new hallway the bald man found himself in was very similar to the previous one. However, he flinched when he stepped in something wet, which made him stop in his tracks. Upon looking down, he saw small puddles of blood on the floor. The man's face wrinkled as he frowned. His eyes followed the trail of blood to none other than the circular entrance to the ventilation system.

Usually the ground-based entrances were closed by a small metal opening that would spread open. However, the entrance to the vent was torn apart. Pieces of steel littered the floor around the entrance. Linwood could only imagine how horrible it'd be for one of those monsters to drag him in there. Instinctively, he raised a hand to his throat and he briefly touched his neck. Shaking the thought out of his head, he looked down at the floor again. It occurred to him that whoever used to be here might've left something behind.

Not too far away from his feet, a ratchet was lying on the floor. The inmate approached the fallen tool and bent down to pick it up. Thankfully, there was no blood on it. It was made of stainless steel and it sported a dark rubber grip. Even though it was only a simple tool, the ratchet could hurt someone quite bad if it was swung hard enough. Besides, it was better than being completely unarmed.

Standing up again, Linwood tightly held the ratchet and he slowly continued on his way, doing his best not to step in the blood again. There was a metal door on the other side of the hallway. Before he stepped any closer to the room, he looked over to the right of the door, which held a white sign that read "Imaging Diagnostics" in a bright yellow font. When he was close enough to the door, a small sensor in the center of the entrance detected his presence. This caused the door to slide open by itself, allowing him to enter.

Wordlessly, Linwood stepped into the dimly lit room. There were no sirens or flashing lights here, which was a relief. The lone man flinched and quickly spun around to see the door slide shut behind him. He let out a small sigh of relief and turned around again to look around.

The room's main lights on the ceiling were switched off, which darkened the room quite a bit. However, several computer monitors lining the wall introduced some light. There was also a table lamp that was switched on in the corner, but the light was rather dim. The inmate glanced at each of the computers. Some displayed medical files and charts while others displayed images of the human respiratory system.

Seeing nothing interesting, he turned to look on the other side of the room. There was a medical bed against the wall. Leather restraints were attached to the bed, similar to the one he had been resting on lately. It seemed that patients would be strapped down here. But there was some kind of machine hanging from the ceiling above the bed. If he had to guess, he'd say it was an x-ray machine.

What Linwood noticed next both confused and somewhat intrigued him. There were pictures hanging all along the wall in front of him. They were x-rays, but each one displayed the same part of the human body, the ribcage. The bones were lit up by a bright, neon blue light that shined behind the pictures. There was something wrong with the x-rays however. In each one, there was what looked like a loop or hollow circle. No, it wasn't a full circle. One end was pointed and thin, but the other end of the loop was much thicker and round. The inmate squinted his eyes as he looked at the anomaly. Then his eyes widened. The anomaly, whatever it was, had a set of sharp teeth. And arms too. There was something living in those people!

Unknown to the inmate, there was someone hiding under one of the computer desks in that very room. Doctor Jessica Len was doing her best to not make any noises. She had been working in this very room when the alarms initially went off. She was visibly frightened. One of her hands was clenched over her mouth and nose to muffle the sounds of her breathing. She saw the convict's feet when he came in and had been staying silent as he observed the x-rays.

Slowly, she peeked her head out from under the desk. The lone man wasn't looking at her, much to her relief. The only thought that ran through her head was to escape. The young doctor slowly inched her way into the open and got up to her feet. Her legs were wobbling violently from fright. She glanced over at the door before she looked at the man. If she was going to do this, she had to do it now.

Linwood on the other hand, was still observing the strange creature in the x-rays. He wanted to know more about these things. Considering the slightly different positions each one was in, he assumed that each x-ray was of a different individual. However, something didn't feel right. In the back of his mind, he had the feeling that he was being watched. Wanting to at least make sure he was safe, he turned around to scan the room.

It was at that moment that the convict and doctor made eye contact. Her eyes resembled that of a deer in the headlights of a moving car. Her chest rapidly rose and fell from her quickened breathing. The woman suddenly turned around and began to run. Linwood barred his teeth however and lurched back before he hurled his ratchet at her with all his might.

The tool spun through the air before hit the back of Doctor Len's head. She cried out in pain and stumbled to the floor with a crash. The tool itself clang to the floor and she painfully clenched her occiput, which was now bleeding. Tears escaped her eyes as she sobbed in pain and fear. The man's footsteps drew near and she looked up to watch him speedily pick up the ratchet. His dark eyes glared down at her as he raised the tool again, which in turn, made her cry out in fear.

"Move and I'll hit you." he warned.

Still crying heavily, Jessica shakily nodded. The man lowered his tool at that point, but only to about waist height. For a while, he silently watched her. It was hard to tell what he was thinking, but it was quite clear that he was fully willing to hurt her if she didn't do what he wanted. She knew of his criminal history, which only served to terrify her even more.

"What's going on here?" he asked coldly.

"I… I…" the doctor hiccupped and trembled.

"For fuck's sake, stop crying." Linwood hissed. "How did those things get out?" he clarified.

"One… one of the other prisoners. He escaped and released all the subjects on this floor." she answered with a sniff and she tried to blink away her constantly flowing tears.

"Who escaped?" the convict demanded harshly.

"A-Aaron something… I don't remember his last name." the doctor answered shakily.

Aaron Makov, Linwood figured. This answer made him wonder where Aaron and the other convicts were. Did they go through some kind of surgery like he did? He had so many questions to ask, but there probably wasn't much time to ask with those things wandering around out there.

"Where is he now?" the bald man demanded and he raised his tool a little higher in a threatening manner.

"I… I don't know. Please don't hurt me…" she sobbed.

Jessica watched with fear as the man before her sneered down at her. She couldn't have known that he was sneering because of a headache he was getting. He groaned quietly and he had the urge to rub his temples, but he refrained from it. The last thing he wanted to do was show any weakness.

"What did you people do to me…?" he groaned, but it sounded more like a growl to the doctor.

"We… we connected your hormones with th-their hive mind." Jessica answered shakily.

"I know that!" Linwood snapped, making the young woman cower in fear, still clenching the back of her head. "These headaches, dammit! Why do I have these headaches!?" he yelled at her.

"It's… it's your brain processing the…"

Jessica was sobbing heavily at this point and she had a hard time talking. Right as she was about to continue, a dark blur shot down from the open vent just above her head. Doctor Len's eyes widened with fear and she screamed at the top of her lungs as six fingered hands firmly gripped her by the head. The pitch black creature hissed menacingly and with great strength, pulled her upwards. Her legs uselessly kicked the air as she was pulled into the ventilation system, within the darkness.

As soon as the creature came, it was gone. Linwood stared at the open vent with horror in his eyes. He could still hear Jessica screaming from somewhere in the vents, but her voice was silenced abruptly. The convict let out some shaky breaths and he backed away.

'Oh my god. That thing just killed someone!' he screamed in his head.

It was never his intention to kill her. He wanted to knock her out or something; at least, that was what he kept telling himself. Linwood kept his eyes locked on the ventilation shaft and very slowly moved his way towards the door. He made sure he never stood directly under the entrance to the air ducts. Once the door beeped and opened from his presence, he turned on his heel and sprinted down the hallway. He didn't know where he was going, but he needed to find a way out of this place. Somewhere to hide.


	12. A Bad Day to be Alive

**Kwai kwai everyone! Earlier, I posted one of my drawings on DeviantArt, which depicts the new, aquatic breed of Alien that's featured in this story. If you would like to see it, go on over to my DeviantArt page. I go by the same name there as I do on fanfiction. Thank you. Remember to leave a review or send me a PM!**

Chapter 12: A Bad Day to be Alive

The numerous tremors from the storm above were becoming quite bothersome to the general populace of Aipaloovik VII. Workers and other civilians constantly had to be on alert and be within arm's reach of something sturdy so they wouldn't fall over. Those who were new to the colony had it the worst, for they didn't much now how to react to the occasional shaking.

To most, the end of the storm couldn't come soon enough. Working in such conditions could be hazardous for certain persons. Some individuals openly questioned why anyone would build a colony under an ocean. Many people were understandably upset, but they were told that the storm would lighten up in time. Most of these complaints were coming from Tower B, where the majority of the populace had to work.

Michael politely excused himself as he brushed past a small group of workers discussing the unfortunate weather. The android was walking at a brisk pace, wanting to waste little time., His duffle back was slung over his shoulder and it hung by his side as he walked. He had the whole tower's layout memorized, so he made every correct turn.

The dark haired synthetic walked past a big sign that read "Hydroponics" and he was moving in the direction of the sign's arrow. The gray metal floors were soon replaced by white tiles and the audio recordings of animals could he heard all around him. He looked around the area as he walked and he noticed a single botanist in a white lab coat and a matching dress walking in the opposite direction of him. With a small raise of his hand, he stopped the old scientist and asked if she's seen Angela anywhere.

"She went to medical a few minutes to see Dr. Bounland." the botanist answered with a noticeable Indian accent.

"She did? Why?" Michael asked with concern in his voice, but this just made the woman smile at his protectiveness.

"Relax. She has a physical examination, today." she assured.

"Oh…" the synthetic spoke, sounding a little more relaxed now. "Well, thank you very much for informing me. Have a good day." he stated.

"You as well." the botanist replied, but the synthetic was already on his way.

The engineer was quick in his step as he walked. It was a little strange to him that Angela agreed to have her exam on the day of the hurricane. He felt that she should have simply stayed home. Still, he put those thoughts aside. All that mattered was finding her and making sure she was safe. He briskly exited the hydroponics section of the tower and towards the nearby elevators. Someone else nearby called the elevator to medical and the two of them waited for the lift to arrive. With a small beep, the double doors slid open and the two of them entered the small space.

"Which floor, buddy?" the man questioned.

"Medical. Floor two hundred and nine." Michael replied with a straight face and he rested a hand on his bag.

"Same as me." the human replied and pressed the button.

Michael wasn't really in the mood for conversation, which the man seemed to sense. They both stayed silent while the lift made its way downward. After a long wait, the double doors opened with a beep and they both stepped out.

The room they found themselves in was a large waiting room with a blue carpet covering the floor. To the right, there were chairs lining the wall. Straight ahead, there was a reception desk. Only a pane of reinforced glass separated the receptionist behind the desk and the general populace. There was also a single door that probably led to the rest of this section of medical. Not only that, but the whole left wall was a window that displayed the outside ocean.

Michael approached the reception desk and politely waited for the woman at the window to notice him. When the receptionist finally looked up from her work, she adjusted her glasses and cleared her throat.

"May I help you, sir?" she questioned in a bored tone, her voice echoed slightly due to the glass between them.

"I'm looking for Angela Senior. I was told she had a physical today with Doctor Bounland." the synthetic spoke politely.

"She arrived about twenty minutes ago. If you'd like, you can sit and wait for her." the old woman stated simply.

Michael didn't wish to wait, but he nodded anyway. The synthetic wordlessly turned around and made his way to the row of chairs before he sat down. His duffel bag rested in his lap as he patiently waited. His blue eyes were locked on the deeper blue void that was the ocean outside. The water was even darker than usual due to the storm, which occasionally caused the room to tremble. All the shaking was quite bothersome for everyone, but it seemed that they were coming less frequently. People could only hope that the worst of the storm had passed.

The engineer didn't look away from the window all that much, but besides the receptionist and that man that came from the elevator, there was a was only him present. The old woman behind the glass was reading over some notes behind the counter while the man from the elevator sat a few seats away from himself. It seemed that this section of medical wasn't very popular today. The ER was probably getting the most amount of visitors.

The hum of a door opening drew the synthetic's attention. He looked over at the door to see Angela step into the room with Doctor Bounland close behind her. The horticulturalist immediately noticed Michael, who was just standing up, and she smiled at him.

"Hey, Michael. I wasn't expecting you here." the white haired woman greeted kindly.

"Hello, Angela. Doctor." the synthetic spoke politely with a small bow of his head to each human.

"Yes, good afternoon. I apologize, but I don't treat artificial persons. You'll have to go three floors up for that." Dr. Bounland replied simply with his hands clasped behind his back.

"Oh, I do not require medical attention, doctor." Michael stated before he looked over at the smiling Angela. "I was told that I could find you here. I was wondering if you would like my company. I have the rest of the day off." he explained to her.

Before she could reply, a small tremor shook the room. It wasn't nearly as intense as the others had been throughout the day, but it still caused the two humans to stumble for a moment. The synthetic's hand quickly shot forward and gently grasped the young woman's arm so she wouldn't fall. Once the shaking stopped, he eased his grip and his hand slowly fell to his side.

"I can't wait for this storm to pass." the doctor scoffed in his thick British accent and he shook his head.

"Tell me about it." the man who was still seated spoke up and he looked out the window. "Any of you ever seen a fish like that before?" he asked curiously.

"A fish like what?" Angela responded and everyone looked out the window.

In the murky blue waters beyond the window, a dark silhouette was swimming towards the tower. It was hard to see any details on the creature, but it was long, like an eel and its tail was swaying up and down as it moved.

Michael's eyes widened in recognition once he spotted the ever approaching creature. He knew what it was, even if the others did not. Quickly, he rushed over to the elevator and slammed his fist against the call button, almost breaking it in the process.

"We need to leave, immediately." he informed everyone.

"Why? What is that thing?" Angela asked with growing concern from his urgency.

"Remember that book I lent you?" he asked while he looked over his shoulder at the others.

Before she could respond, the creature suddenly slammed its body against the glass. The windows were made of reinforced layers of glass that not even these tremors could break, yet the force of this beast caused a spider web of cracks to appear. Its eyeless face stared at the small group of horrified people. At this distance, the group could see that the monster's entire body was jet black and its skin looked almost chitin-like. Its elongated head was smooth as sea glass, yet the creature sported an almost comically large jaw. Not only that, but there were long spines lining its back and the base of its tail.

"What the bloody hell is that!?" Liam Bounland cried out and he took a few shaky steps back.

The aquatic creature peeled back its dark lips to reveal its silver teeth before it opened its mouth. If one were to look close enough, a second set of smaller teeth could be seen within the creature's dark void of an open mouth. But what caught everyone's attention was its raising arm, which resembled that of a mantis. The spiked appendage leaned back before it struck the glass with lightning speed. Even more cracks appeared and an audible crunch was heard from the transparent surface.

"We need to leave. Now." Michael spoke quickly; where was that damn elevator?

Thinking quickly, Doctor Bounland rushed towards the door he and Angela entered from a few moments ago. It opened as soon as he was close enough to its metal surface, which revealed the hall to the rest of that section of the medical wing.

"This way! We can find another way out!" he called out to the others.

"You heard him! Go!" Michael yelled out to Angela, who shakily nodded and ran through the door once the creature smashed its spiked limb against the glass again.

A third bang echoed through the room, followed by the splash of water. The synthetic quickly looked over at the window again to see the sharp arm sticking clean through the reinforced glass. Between the cracks, thin jets of salty water were shooting into the waiting room. But then the creature pulled its arm out of the glass, which caused an even more violent jet of water to spray into the room, soaking the carpeted floor.

The man who had entered through the elevator suddenly picked up one of the chairs and ran forward. He ignored the synthetic's protests and he stuck one of the chair legs through the newly created hole in the glass in an attempt to stop the water from getting in. The small streams of water drenched the man while he kept the chair in place.

The creature outside leaned back and a faint shriek could be heard as its bladed arm shot forward. The dark appendage easily pierced through the weakened glass and stabbed clean through the man's head, killing him instantly.

"Fuck! We have to go!" the doctor shouted from the door.

Michael watched the murderous creature for a few moments longer. It pulled its arm away, which lead to the corpse stumbling down onto the watery floor. Its head then sprang forward and smashed clean through the glass, causing a vast amount of ocean water to flow into the room. The creature hissed loudly, and the synthetic quickly turned and sprinted out of the room with the doctor right behind him.

The door slowly slid shut once they were both through. Doctor Bounland quickly opened a small slot on the wall next to the door, revealing a red button. There was also a sign right above that button that read "EMERGENCY LOCK." Without any hesitation, the doctor pressed his palm against the button. A few quick beeps were heard while a red light flashed in the center of the door, signaling that it was locked and sealed tight. The sounds of rushing water and muffled shrieks of the creature could be heard from the other side of the door, but for the moment, they were safe.

"That should stop it for a while." the doctor assured the two others with sweat coating his forehead.

"What about the receptionist?" Angela asked worriedly with a shaky hand resting against the wall.

"Well, Susan's behind bulletproof glass, but if she's smart, she'll get the fuck out of there." Liam Bounland replied.

The din of shattered glass followed by a woman screaming suddenly rang through the hall. Michael had enough of this. He knew he was specifically instructed to keep quiet about this, but people were dying. He needed to protect Angela and the doctor. the synthetic found himself frowning and he grabbed hold of his duffel bag with one hand while he grabbed the zipper with his freehand.

"What are you doing?" the white haired woman questioned with a crack in her voice.

"I was afraid that this might happen. I'm not going to let it hurt you." Michael replied simply.

With that, the synthetic pulled his makeshift flamethrower out of the bag, much to the two humans' shock. He zipped up the bag once more before he slung it over his shoulder once more.

"Is that thing registered?" Doctor Bounland asked a bit nervously.

"No." Michael replied with no hesitation.

"You said you thought that creature might attack, right? What did you mean by that?" Angela shakily questioned and she constantly glanced at the locked door.

"And did that thing come from Tower D?" Doctor Bounland demanded a bit heatedly.

"I will tell you everything I know, but right now, I would prefer we make some distance between us and the creature.

The two humans looked at one another before they looked back at the engineer. They had so many questions, but the monster in the other room terrified them. The doctor cleared his throat before he stepped past them both and pointed down the hall.

"There's an emergency elevator by the observation rooms. It can only take us to the other floors in medical, but anywhere has got to be better than here." he explained to them.

"Then lead the way." Michael stated and Angela gently held onto his left arm.

Doctor Bounland nodded and began to walk down the hall. The three of them quickly walked through the eerily quiet hallway and took the closest right. On both sides of the hall, rooms were marked via brightly colored numbers. But at the end of the hall, there was a single door elevator. The doctor quickly pressed the call button once they were at the end of the hall.

"How many of these monsters are there?" Angela asked fearfully and she looked over her shoulder to make sure they weren't being followed.

"At least two. Maybe more." Michael replied in a grim tone.

"I suggest we go to the veterinarians' floor. It's on the same floor as one of the bridges to Tower C. If there's any more of those monsters, then I'm getting us the bloody hell off this planet." Doctor Bounland spoke confidently, trying to mask his own fear.

"I just hope that the weather will allow it." the synthetic spoke softly.

The ding of the elevator was heard and the floor slowly slid open. Their boots clanged against the metal floor while they piled into the elevator and the doctor pressed the uppermost available floor. All of them were silent as the door closed in front of them and they began to ascend upwards.

* * *

Unknown to the general public, Tower D was in shambles. The majority of the tower was on complete lockdown with alarms blaring throughout most of the containment cells. Workers and scientists were requested by Brother to report to the living section for safety until further notice. Of course, not everyone obeyed the artificial intelligence.

The security around Doctor O'Connell's office had greatly increased since the incident earlier; where several holding cells were unlocked. Now, dozens of armed security officers were patrolling the hall that led to the head scientist's room. Some of them even set up mounted turrets and tipped over tables in the possible event of a firefight.

The head scientist herself was sitting at her desk within her office. One hand was resting on her forehead while her other hand, armed with a laser pistol, was resting in her lap. There were others in the room as well. Doctor Sarvez was leaning against the wall not too far from Dr. O'Connell. He was holding a data pad and he was reading over some notes Brother provided him on the emergency. Charles was crouched down on the floor in the corner of the room. His long tail was circling around his prone body as he concentrated, trying to locate the escaped subjects. Lastly, Lieutenant Johanson and his two partners were stationed within the office just in case an escapee tried to get in through the vents.

"I have some bad news." Boris spoke up suddenly, breaking the long silence.

"The last thing I want to hear is more bad news." Doctor O'Connell frowned and she combed her fingers through her red hair, catching a few knots in the process.

Doctor Sarvez licked his lips when he noticed that everyone's attention was on him. Well, except maybe Charles, but he could never tell what that synthetic was up to. The doctor glanced down at his notes once again before he cleared his throat.

"Brother has detected two disturbances in Tower B, both in medical. One of those unknown specimens that the artificial person, um Michael, just broke through a window and flooded at least two rooms." he explained a bit hesitantly. "The other… Brother detected some of the parasites swimming just outside of medical. I think they found a way inside too, but I'm not sure." he added, earning a groan from one of the security officers.

This was like a nightmare. No one could understand how things went so wrong so fast. It seemed like something worse occurred after every hour or so. And these setbacks were coming more frequently.

"What of the other subjects in the detention center?" Lt. Johanson questioned quickly while his grip on his pulse rifle tightened.

"Well, that's probably the one bit of good news I have. Subject C and the Empress are still in their holding cells." Boris assured with his shoulders slumped.

"That may be true, but with the rest of the Xenomorphs now on the loose, their first priority will be to rescue the Empress. And I'm sure Subject C would be next." Charles stated, speaking for the first time in a long while.

This information just brought everyone's hopes down once again. They knew the synthetic's words were true. There was no way the subjects, or "Xenomorphs" as they were properly called, were going to allow their Empress to stay locked up for long now that they were free. It was only a matter of time before they went for her.

The head scientist let out a sigh and she looked down at the contents of her desk. Paperwork for the company, test notes, and a list of things she planned on accomplishing today and throughout the week. None of it seemed to matter anymore. Jenny's hazel eyes wondered towards a photograph within a picture frame near the edge of her desk. She reached forward with her freehand and touched its glass surface. The photo displayed an image of a smiling family having a picnic in a grassy field. There was a young man, a bit large around the stomach, but he was handsome enough. There was also a young girl, no older than four years old, who was holding a sandwich of some kind. And between them sat Jenny herself.

It's been nearly a year since Dr. O'Connell's seen her family. She let out a shaky sigh as she stared at the picture. Then, her eyes traveled upwards to look at everyone, who were all waiting for a response from her.

"We need to evacuate this colony." she spoke with her eyes narrowed.

"Evacuate? Doctor O'Connell, we can't just-"

"That's enough, Dr. Sarvez." the head scientist snapped and she quickly stood up. "Brother! As of this moment, I declare our situation as critical. Send a distress signal to the Company." the stated sternly.

"Understood. Message has been sent." the computerized male voice spoke thought the loudspeakers in the room.

"Good. Now, we need to get to Tower C so we can leave this place. Dr. Sarvez, you, me, and the rest of the staff will make our way to the tram station." Jenny stated before she turned to look at the three officers. "Lieutenant. I want you and your partners to execute the Empress. With her gone, the specimens will be disorganized and just might give us enough time to escape. Once she's dead, make your way to Tower C for extraction. I trust you'll know where to meet us." she ordered.

Both Sergeant Shanza and Corporal Cobalt stared at their employer with their eyes wide with shock. Even Lieutenant Johanson appeared startled from the demand, but he still seemed rather stoic. None of them could ever predict that they'd ever be given such an assignment.

"It'll be done. If we head out now, then maybe we can get to her before her children do." the Lieutenant stated and he switched the safety off on his rifle.

The head scientist simply nodded and she watched as the three officers exited the room, leaving just the two doctors and the inhumane looking synthetic. Once they were gone, Jenny switched her attention to Charles.

"I'm leaving the most crucial task with you. I need you to find and retrieve that criminal, Linwood Stevenson. Bring him to the extraction point by any means necessary. Do you understand?" Doctor O'Connell spoke sternly; wanting to make sure the synthetic knew just how important this task was.

"Understood." Charles replied with his silver teeth barred.

With that, the synthetic finally stood up and walked over the closed air vent on the ceiling. His black arms reached up and gripped the bars before he pulled the metal frame from the ceiling with little effort. Still holding the barred frame, he leapt up into the ventilation system. His thin, barbed tail slowly slithered up into the darkness before the vent's frame was placed over the opening. Once he was gone, Doctor Sarvez rubbed his temples and looked over at his superior.

"And what of Aaron Makov?" Boris questioned.

"Forget that lunatic. The specimens will get him if our security officers don't." O'Connell answered with a frown and she made her way towards the door, which opened with a soft, mechanical hum. "Shall we?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

Dr. Sarvez sighed softly and followed Jenny out of the room. As she announced to everyone that they were moving out, the door slid closed and the lights within the office automatically went out.


	13. Death Beckons

**Kwai kwai nidobak! Well, I decided to take some time away from writing to collect my thoughts. I love writing, but sometimes, you need a break if you're writing multiple times a week. I'm no Stephan King, sadly. But I feel more motivated to write now, so expect more chapters in the future. Remember to leave a review or send me a PM!**

Chapter 13: Death Beckons

A large crash rang out through the halls of the medical section of Tower B. This compelled the alarms closest to the anomaly to blare and flash yellow lights. But throughout the veterinarian's section of medical, it was mostly silent and dark. Due to the storm, many of the workers and vets were off duty.

"Warning! Architectural breach detected on floor two hundred and nine! Repair technicians are required immediately! Thank you for your cooperation!" the emotionless voice of Brother spoke out through the empty halls of the vet's section of medical.

The overhead lights of the vet's section lightened up alongside the siren lights, which brightly illuminated the halls and rooms. The walls were a bright aqua color while the floor and furniture was mostly white. Posters of cats, dogs, and rabbits were hung up on the walls. If it weren't for the alarms, the area would look rather nice.

At the end of one of the hallways, the light above the elevator doors lit up with a dinging sound. Then, the double doors slid open to reveal three individuals within: Michael, Angela, and Doctor Bounland.

Clutching the makeshift flamethrower in his hands, Michael stepped out of the elevator. The small flame burned by the nozzle of the weapon as his blue eyes moved this way and that, looking for any signs of the creature from the floor below. The sirens had quieted down at this point, but the yellow lights were still flashing to signal the emergency.

"It's clear." he bluntly informed the others.

The two humans slowly stepped out of the elevator, both unarmed. They stayed close behind the android. As they walked down the hallway, they could look into a few of the open rooms to see the offices. Most of them were dark and hard to see into, but they were certainly empty.

"Where is everyone?" Angela whispered quietly with a hand resting on the synthetic's arm.

"They probably evacuated at the sound of the crash downstairs. Either that or left due to the storm. I almost stayed home today myself." Liam Bounland replied with a hushed voice.

All three of them flinched from a sudden sound to their left. It wasn't clear what it was, but it didn't sound mechanical or anything. It almost sounded like a groan or whine. Michael immediately pointed his flamethrower in the direction of the noise. None of them spoke a word. There was an open doorway a little ways ahead on their left.

The synthetic took a few steps closer to the open room and looked inside. Just like the offices, the lights were off and it was almost pitch black in there. But the floor was gray instead of white and there appeared to be less lab equipment, judging from what was in the light. Perhaps the room was a kennel or something similar. Then the sound came again, much more clearly this time. That sound was definitely coming from something organic. It was a whimper. A soft whimper. The two humans quickly glanced at one another. Would that creature from before make such a noise?

Something in that dark room moved. Michael aimed towards the shadow and hovered his finger over the trigger. Everyone stepped back into the light as the shadow moved closer and into the doorway.

A dog slowly moved into the light; a greyhound to be exact. It had beige fur and brown eyes. Being a greyhound, the animal had skinny legs, a thin tail, and a narrow head. The animal's ears seemed to perk up at the sight of the three of them and it ran over to them. A faint smile crossed Angela's lips and she reached down to pet the creature's head. The dog panted and looked up to attempt to lick her hand.

"It's a dog! Poor thing was probably left behind when everyone ran off." the white haired woman told them while she pet its head and rubbed its side.

"Well, we can't just leave it here. I think we should take it with us." Dr. Bounland commented with a hand on his chin.

"I agree, but we need to stay quiet." Michael reminded them.

The others nodded and the android continued on his way down the hall without another word with the doctor close behind. Before she followed them, Angela checked the red collar around the dog's neck, specifically the tag. The name "Butter" was engraved in the brass. She smiled at this and pat the dog on the head one more time before she followed her companions.

"Come on, Butter." she said quietly to the dog.

The greyhound let its long tongue hang from the side of its snout and trotted behind them. It stayed close to the woman who first pet it. Butter had already taken a liking to her.

Together with the greyhound, the three of them made their way into the dimly lit waiting room. Like the rest of the veterinarian's section of medical, there was no one here. But this room wasn't as silent as the hallway they just came from. The sounds of footsteps and talking could be heard coming from outside.

"People are still evacuating." Michael murmured under his breath.

"If that's the case, you should probably put that gun away before you get us arrested." Liam said quickly with a short glance over his shoulder to make sure they weren't followed.

"Good point." the android remarked with a frown.

Michael switched off the blue flame at the end of the barrel before he carefully stuffed the weapon into his duffel bag. Once he appeared to be unarmed, the doctor opened the door, revealing crowds of people walking to the right. According to the sign directly ahead of them, they could make their way to the bridge that led to Tower A by going right.

Dr. Bounland could only guess that most of the personnel were given the day off due to both the storm and the crash from downstairs. Since Tower A was residential, he assumed that everyone wanted to go back home and relax away from work. The problem was that they had to head left to get to Tower C. He promised his two companions that he'd get them off this planet and he planned to do it.

"We need to go left." Liam informed Angela and the android.

"Then stay close to me." the engineer told them.

Angela whispered something to Butter and pet the animal's side. With that, Michael walked out of the waiting room and into the hall. The two humans and the greyhound followed him as he turned to the right and began to walk against the crowd.

* * *

The detention center of Tower D was arguably the most heavily fortified sector in the whole colony. The Xenomorph Empress and Subject C were both locked away there, separated from the rest of the hive. It was imperative that the rest of the hive keep a fair distance from them, lest they try to escape. But things were different due to the now critical emergency that was taking place.

There was a massive set of iron double doors at the center of the detention center. It was several centimeters thick. These doors were what separated this particular section from the rest of the tower.

Sounds of grinding metal echoed out. The double doors slowly split apart to reveal the main hall of that sector. The room was brightly lit with fluorescent lights way up on the ceiling. Several benches, chairs, and a few white desks neatly lined the room. The company's logo was even painted onto the wall by the receptionist's desk. "Wayland-Yutani. Building Better Worlds."

The clanking and soft squeaks of heavy boots against metal sounded off as Lieutenant Johanson and his two partners, Sergeant Shanza and Corporal Cobalt, walked into the room. All of their weapons were at the ready as their eyes scanned around the room, looking for any threats or survivors. Yet no one was present. The large, rectangular room appeared to be deserted. A few empty cups lied on the ground here and there, but there didn't seem to be any signs of a struggle or fight. There was one cup of coffee that was still steaming hot.

"I thought there was supposed to be a security detail here." the corporal mumbled under her breath while she slowly moved her smart gun this way and that in horizontal arcs.

Her two partners didn't respond. Sergeant Shanza kept his revolver pointed upwards while he looked through the reinforced glass of his riot shield. With Johanson right behind him, he stepped around the receptionist's desk. There was no one there however. He even checked under the desk to make sure no one was hiding. They were completely alone there. Then, the sound of Brother's voice loudly spoke.

"Warning! Non-human presence detected on levels 149, 151, 152, 168, 169, 187, 191, and 192. Please evacuate these levels immediately." the emotionless computer boomed throughout the entirety of Tower D.

"Lieutenant? Aren't we-"

"Yes." Johanson interrupted the sergeant.

The detention center was located on floor one hundred eighty-seven. Adam Johanson slung his pulse rifle over his shoulder before he raised his left arm to look at his wristband. The band had a tiny monitor on the side along his veins that led to his palm. This was so that he could look at the screen even while holding a rifle. He lightly flipped the switch on the side of the screen and what looked like a lime green radar appeared. From the central diameter of the circle, two white lines began to repeatedly shoot forward and back in perfect unison. And every time the lines shot out, a soft, high pitched beep rang out from the wristband. It was so faint however, you had to really focus on it to hear the beeps, like a pin needle hitting a tiled floor.

It wasn't a simple radar on the screen, it was a motion tracker. The Colonial Marines and other paramilitary groups were experimenting with new forms of motion trackers. Not only was this model far less clunky than standard models, but it also tracked movements both in front of and behind the user. One of the drawbacks however was its limited range. It could only track movements no further than nine meters both forward and back. Because of this, this model was mostly used for indoor operations.

Once he was sure the tracker was functioning properly, the lieutenant swung his pulse rifle around his shoulder again and held it in both hands. He tilted his head towards his two partners, to which they both nodded. Sergeant Shanza and Corporal Cobalt pointed their weapons upward as they formed up behind their leader.

Without a word, he led them around the receptionist's desk and towards a metal door in the back. It beeped and slid open once they were close enough and the three security officers entered a long hallway that brought them to a t-intersection. There was a small sign with neon yellow writing that had arrows pointing in either direction. To the left, it read "containment cells," and to the right, "research labs and offices."

All along the wall that they were facing, the surface was made of rippled glass that had a white tint. Due to the leaf-like pattern on the glass, it was difficult to see what lay beyond the glass, which was more than likely the point.

The loud clang of metal on metal rang out without warning, followed by a low toned hiss. The three guards stood stock-still as a tall, dark figure moved its way into view from the right within the next room. The rippled glass made it impossible to see its features besides its general shape, but it certainly wasn't human. It had to be at least three times the height of the average man. Six, sharply curved spines stuck out from its back with what looked to be small tendrils moving back and forth from the sides of the appendages.

The creature's heavy feet thumped against the metal floor while it walked to the left at a leisurely pace. The officers could barely make out its thin arms, for they were raised like a praying mantis and clung to its chest. What looked like long fingers twitched occasionally. Once the large, yet slender creature was directly in front of them, the motion tracker strapped to Adam's wrist echoed out a beep and a white dot appeared on the monitor.

The creature came to a full stop and the beep ceased. The hall was deathly quiet. It seemed that everyone, even the beast, was holding their breaths in anticipation. Its long head shifted slightly and it slowly took another step after a long wait. This caused the tracker to pick up its movements and it beeped again.

"Shit…" the lieutenant shakily murmured under his breath and he moved to switch off the device.

But before he hit the small switch, the beast let out a noisy hiss and suddenly bolted to the left at a surprisingly fast speed. The radar stopped beeping once the creature was far enough away and it was out of sight. Even its heavy footfalls faded away with time. Once it was gone, Sergeant Shanza backed up against the metal wall and let out a long breath.

"Sir… what the hell was that thing?" he gasped.

"Was that the empress?" the corporal questioned with equal unease.

"No." Lieutenant Johanson replied and he looked down at the motion tracker with a shaken look, which was a rare sight. "I believe we just witnessed Subject C." he informed them.

"And what does 'C' stand for?" Nattily Cobalt practically demanded.

"Carrier." their superior officer answered.

They all went silent for a moment. Sergeant Shanza and Corporal Cobalt have never even heard of that breed of Xenomorph before. They were aware of the hives warriors, drones, the Empress, and the parasites, yet this "Carrier" was completely new to them. And now it knew that they were somewhere in that general area.

"Let's go kill it then." Nattily said softly and she switched her M56 Smart Gun from four-shot-burst to full auto.

"No, corporal. I wasn't told much about the Carrier, but the suits told me that if it were ever to escape, I should avoid it at all costs." the lieutenant informed them with a stern look.

"And that thing just ran to where the Empress is locked up." Corporal Cobalt mumbled under her breath.

"We don't necessarily have to go to the holding cells to kill the Empress." Sergeant Shanza commented. "If we were to get to the main office of this place, we could just activate the self-destruction of this sector. Sure, it'll damage parts of the tower, but you can be damn sure that the Empress and that Carrier will die." he explained.

"Alright. Stay close and keep quiet then." Lieutenant Johanson told them before he turned to the left and slowly walked down the hall with his weapon constantly at the ready.

Sergeant Shanza was close behind with his riot shield raised. Nattily was a bit more hesitant though. She was no soldier like her commanding officer. Being in such a dangerous situation terrified her. She was used to arresting unruly colonists, not sneaking around non-humans. Not only that, but blowing up an entire science wing without direct approval from the company was probably illegal. She was the type of person to always play by the rules. But she had to think, what was more important? Illegally blowing up a sector that was already beyond hope, which would no doubt save lives… or try killing the Empress directly with the Carrier nearby?

"Bloody hell…" the corporal sighed under her breath and quietly caught up with her two partners.

The door at the end of the hall automatically opened to reveal a short, square shaped room. The only way to go was through an open doorway on the left. The three of them very slowly entered the next room, which was much larger. There were several cubicles dotted around the room that were housing desks and active computers. There were two things in the brightly lit room that made their hearts sink.

Several scientists and even a few security officers were lying on the floor. Some on their sides and others on their backs. Some were still in their seats in the cubicles. But all of them had those spider-like parasites on their faces. Those finger looking limbs hugged around their victim's skulls while their long tails tightly wrapped around the men and women's necks. The second thing that raised their alarm was the rippled glass all along the wall, just like from the hallway.

Directly ahead of them, there was a tall, metal door that looked like it had been torn open like tinfoil. The way beyond the door was almost pitch black. It was possible that that way led to the containment cells, but none of them had any desire to go in there.

"Sir… I don't recall parasites or eggs being kept here." Sergeant Shanza whispered quietly.

Neither did the lieutenant. The last thing he was expecting was this. Nothing but the Empress and the Carrier were meant to be locked up here. And when the Empress laid her eggs, they were immediately taken to another section of the tower, far away from her.

Then the sound of heavy footfalls rang out from the darkness of the other room. Johanson's eyes widened and he quickly pointed towards the cubicles. His partners seemed confused at first, but they soon understood what he meant once he quickly bent down. He crawled under one of the desks and hid himself from view.

Nattily ran to one of the cubicles that had a scientist slumped in a chair. She tried to be as quiet as she could and she mimicked her commander's actions. It was a bit harder to fit under there with her smart gun, but she managed it with only the nozzle of her gun sticking out into the open. The sergeant was having a bit more trouble however. He was at the cubicle next to hers and he tried to fit in, but his shield was too bulky to fit. There wasn't enough space for both him and the shield without giving himself away. Sweat slid down his forehead as the footsteps got louder. He gave up trying to get it to fit and he rested it against the cubicle wall, hoping that the creature wouldn't notice, before he crawled back under the desk.

That deep sounding hiss echoed through the room as the Carrier presumably entered. None of them could get a good look from their positions, but they could definitely hear its footfalls every time it moved. It was louder than the other breeds. Not wanting a repeat of last time, Lieutenant Johanson switched off his motion tracker, which was doing much more harm than good.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Sergeant Shanza had to repress the urge to gasp when two pitch black feet stepped into his view. The creature was right in front of him and he could see every detail of its feet and lower legs. In the two years he's worked here, he's never been this close to a Xenomorph before. Its black exoskeleton was as black as the void of space. The sharp talons at the end of its toes looked to be sharp enough to rip his flesh right open. If its feet alone were this horrifying, he didn't even want to know what the rest of it looked like.

His glasses began to fog up from how sweaty he was getting with fear. The Carrier was standing directly in front of the desk he was under and he was praying that it would move on. It stayed put however and he couldn't even see what it was doing.

Corporal Cobalt's heart was pounding in her chest. Thoughts raced through her head about the creature and why it stopped moving. Did it know they were there or not? Curiosity got the better of her. Very slowly, making as little noise as possible, she edged her way out from under the desk and raised her head to look out. Her heart almost skipped a beat when she saw the monster. It was taller than any Xenomorph she's ever seen. It looked almost like an irregularly tall drone with long back spines, but its arms were tucked up to its chest. It had long, bony fingers that ended with sharp claws. But the worst part was its six back spines. There were four of those tan, spidery parasites clinging to those spines. Their legs clenched around the sharp appendages while their tails squirmed about.

She followed the creature's eyeless gaze to the desk that Shanza was under. She couldn't quite see from her angle, but it noticed the riot shield that was resting against the wall, which wasn't in there the last time the beast was in the room. Fearing the worst for her partner, she reached for her headpiece's visor and switched on the auto-target on her eyepiece screen.

Lieutenant Johanson witnessed the corporal doing this. He tried to motion for her to get back under the desk, but she wasn't looking at him. He wasn't aware of what was going on near the sergeant. He was afraid that she was going to blow their cover and get them all killed.

But then the creature, as if sensing that it was being watched, turned its head to face Nattily. Its eyeless face stared directly at her fearful brown eyes. Time almost seemed to slow down for the corporal. The Carrier let out a shriek that seemed to shake the whole room and it began to move away from Shanza's cubicle to get to her.

The metal arm that connected her gun to her back automatically aimed the weapon at the Xenomorph. Before it even fully locked on target, Cobalt quickly pressed her thumb down on the red firing switch on the side of the smart gun. The weapon immediately discharged several bullets while the metal arm took aim. A few of these rounds marked the wall with dark bullet holes, but it didn't take long for the weapon to find its mark.

The Carrier shrieked in agony as the bullets tore through its ribbed chest. Pieces of its exoskeleton flew out in all directions and its yellow-green blood splattered onto the walls and a few desks. The smell of burning metal invaded their noses as the acidic blood burned holes through the wall.

Shanza quickly rolled out from under the desk he was hiding under because some acid had landed on its metal surface. One of the parasites seemed to notice him, for it leapt off the creature and onto the floor in front of him. In mere milliseconds, the sergeant raised his revolver and shot the creature three times, causing it to jump back. His arm jolted with each squeeze of the trigger, but the bangs on his handgun were nothing compared to the din of the smart gun. The creature's spidery legs rapidly twitched before it curled up and went still.

Corporal Cobalt was still firing upon the Carrier. It shrieked and tried to back away to escape the constant barrage of bullets. Two of the other parasites leapt off its back to escape, but the lieutenant got out of hiding and quickly spotted them. He aimed down the iron sights of his pulse rifle and fired off five bullets at each parasite. The first one went down easily enough, but he had to track the second one's rapid movements before he could shoot and kill it.

The tall Xenomorph seemed to go into a rage. It roared and despite its bleeding chest and abdomen, it suddenly ran forward. One of its arms had been blown off in an attempt to shield its chest. Nattily's eyes widened and she shakily stepped back from the monster. More than two thirds of her clip were emptied into the creature before it suddenly fell forward and crashed onto the floor. But as it fell, the last parasite leapt forward. It was slightly darker than the other two.

Nattily didn't even have time to adjust her aim before she felt its finger-like limbs wrap around her head. Its long tail tightly wrapped around her neck and she gasped for breath as something long and tube-like forced its way into her mouth and down her throat. She heard Lieutenant Johanson call out her name before she fell unconscious.


	14. My Heart Burns

**Kwai kwai nidobak! I'm happy that I managed to get this chapter done so quickly. I hope you all like it. Remember to leave a review or send me a PM!**

Chapter 14: My Heart Burns

The Leo Colony on Mars was bustling with activity. Various men and women were going about their days on the red planet. Like every other day, the colonists were either performing their everyday jobs or were shopping. The sun was setting as the day ended, which resulted in the horizon slowly turning form a butterscotch color to a deep blue with the sky being an orange color closest to the sun.

There were also numerous vehicles driving down the tan colored roads throughout the colony. Some were large and had multiple wheels, while others were smaller and had three or four wheels. However, the number of large vehicles far outweighed the smaller ones. Due to the massive girth of the vehicles, nearly every road in the colony were one-way roads.

One such automobile, a Daihtai tractor, was driving down one of these many one-way roads. The tractor possessed four wheels on both sides and the cabin was lifted significantly high up from the ground. Its engine roared while the vehicle moved. The tractor past by many metal buildings until it slowly took a left into a massive parking lot. Many of the parking spaces were large to compensate for the various different vehicles in the colony. Some spaces were occupied, but most were vacant. Gradually, the Daihtai tractor pulled into one of the many open spaces before the engine was silenced.

A single door on the left side of the vehicle opened soon after the tractor was shut off. The driver stepped out of the tractor and closed the door with a slam. The driver was a man wearing a blue coat with the hood pulled over his head. There were a some white plastic bag hanging from his back.

Grayish white mist was exhaled through the man's back while he climbed down the ladder of the tractor and onto the ground. The cold air made his breath visible and he couldn't wait to get inside where it was warm. Half walking, half jogging, he made his way towards the closest building to the parking lot and entered through the automatic double doors.

This metal building was the home of the man in the coat, as well as many other tenants. For this place was an apartment building. Once inside, the man reached towards his hood and pulled it down and off of his head. His gloved hand gingerly rubbed his hairless cranium and he walked past the reception desk and into a wide hall that was lined with doors. Each door was etched with a number.

The bald man stopped at room twenty one before he reached into his coat and pulled out a pass card. He slid the plastic card over the scanner on the side of the door, which let out a light beep before the door slid open. Once the way was open, he slipped the card back into his coat's breast pocket and entered.

"Janet! I'm home!" the man called out and the door slid shut behind him.

Out from the other room, a woman wearing a heavy jacket walked in. Her hand was constantly resting against the wall, as if to support herself. The room was rather bland looking. The walls and floor were both white while most of the furniture was pitch black or dark gray. A few empty cups were resting on the coffee table as well as used plates, but it seemed that no one was caring for them.

The man in blue smiled and he walked over to the furniture. He grabbed hold of the plastic bag on his back and gently set it down on the sofa.

"Sorry I'm late. I went out shopping." he informed her.

"Oh? What'd you get?" the woman, Janet, asked emotionlessly, still standing a little ways away from him.

The man's smile seemed to widen at this and he opened the bag. He reached his gloved hand in and pulled out various colorful toys for an infant. There was a rattle, a bib, diapers, a currently deflated yellow ball, and many similar items. The more stuff he retrieved from the bag, the more Janet frowned.

"I can't tell you how excited I am to be a father, Janet. I know I work all day, but once this baby is born, I will spend more time at home to help you out." he told her and he looked up at her with his brown eyes.

"Dammit, Linwood. Just stop." Janet blurted out, catching him by surprise.

"What?" the bald man asked quietly with confusion.

"You spend all day in that damn lab of yours or outside the colony in the fucking middle of nowhere. You're never there for me anymore! Hell, you didn't even come home at all yesterday!" she explained with a heated voice.

"Never there for you? Janet, I'm working hard to support our child." the bald man tried to reason with her and he stood up at this point.

"Well, don't bother. I had an abortion yesterday." Janet spat out with tears leaking from under her eyes.

At that moment, time almost seemed to stand still. There was a deathly silence as the two stared at one another. The bald man in the blue jacket was horrified from this news. It had to have been some cruel joke, but the seriousness in her eyes said otherwise. His legs became wobbly and he pretty much fell onto the sofa to sit.

"I'm leaving you, Linwood. Tomorrow morning, I'm leaving for Earth. I'm sorry, but I just can't love you anymore. I can't love someone who isn't there for me." Janet sniffed.

With that, she slowly walked past the sofa and out the door. Even as she left, Linwood stared straight ahead, his eyes still wide with shock. Once the door closed, signaling Janet's departure, he broke out into a fit of sobs.

* * *

Many sections of the Aipaloovik VII colony looked deserted. Sheets of paper, coffee cups, and clipboards littered the floors throughout the evacuated areas. With no one working during the storm, several electrical systems went into a state of disrepair. Lights were flickering, there were leaking pipes, and entire rooms became flooded with salty water.

A white, metal door opened, allowing light to shine into the darkness. A dark figure walked into the room with a metal tool in hand. As soon as the figure entered the room, a loud pop echoed and glowing sparks shot out from the ceiling. A few flickers later, the lights finally turned on.

Linwood groaned softly from the bright light. He blinked a few times to adjust to the lighting and he looked around the almost exclusively white room. The area he was in was in the shape of an octagon with various lockers lining the walls. No windows were present in this room and one of the lights on the ceiling was out. There were three doors however, one of which was where he entered from.

With his bare feet, the convict stepped inside of the room and looked around. It seemed that everywhere he went, the floors were freezing cold. All of the lockers had locks hanging from them, and he didn't want to make any noises to try to get them open. Since his last encounter with one of those eyeless creatures, it was his belief that they were attracted to loud noises. Not only that, but every time one of them was around, he got a headache. Perhaps it was whatever chemicals those doctors put in him reacting to their presence.

There wasn't much reason to contemplate that now however. It was Linwood's goal to try to get out of that colony. Or at the very least, find somewhere safe to hide. Finding some decent clothes wasn't a bad idea either. The first door he examined was the one directly ahead of him. The only label to indicate what the room was used for was "AR-97" right above the door. And on the door itself, there was a small motion sensor on the center, but when he got close enough, the sensor blinked a red light.

'ACCESS DENIED." Brother's mechanical voice boomed out from the loudspeakers, making the near-naked man jump in surprise.

"Christ…" the convict mumbled under his breath.

It wasn't clear to him why, but there was a need for the inmate to get into that room. It was almost like a primal instinct. But he was no engineer, nor did he have any sort of device to bypass the lock. All he had was a ratchet, a tool which he hadn't used since he was in high school.

After looking around for a bit, Linwood spotted a currently closed opening in the wall. It was a little ways to his right. Biting his lower lip, the bald man stepped closer to the vent. Once close enough, the metal surface slowly opened, allowing him entry in the air vents. A long exhale escaped his nostrils while he stared at the dark interior of the hole in the wall.

"Please… don't let anything be in there." he whispered quietly to himself.

With that, he crouched down and stuck one foot through the opening. His foot soon connected with the smooth, cold surface of the ventilation system, which forced a shiver to run up his spine. Still crouched, he moved his body headfirst through the opening; then his other foot. Once fully within the vent, he noticed that he could either go right or left. Both ways led to pitch blackness. Going right would lead him in the opposite direction of the room he wanted to enter however, so he turned left and commenced to crawl forward.

He was forced to crawl on all fours due to the cramped space he was in. It was uncomfortable and even embarrassing moving like this due to the medical gown he was wearing. But when he was no more than a meter away from the opening he entered from, the metal surface slid shut. All sources of light were cut off the ventilation system.

The bald man released a shaky breath and his ears strained to hear anything out of the ordinary, but all he could hear was his own breathing. No headaches warned him of any dangers. So, he continued to inch his way forward despite being unable to see more than an arm's length in front of him.

It wasn't clear how much time had passed. Time seemed to move more slowly when one was frightened. But soon enough, the darkness was coaxed away by a bright light ahead of the crouched man. A dot of light seemed to gradually expand in front of him, forming an upright manhole, an exit.

A sharp exhale escaped his dry lips and he quickly shuffled through the opening. Linwood crawled out of the dark vent and into a rectangular room with white lights shining down from the ceiling. The room appeared to be some kind of shooting range, which surprised the convict. What use did a science center have for a shooting range? There were inactive cameras on tripods pointing down the range as well as where the shooter would've been standing. There was nothing down the shooting alley, but the wall behind it was stained black, as if it had been burned.

Linwood groaned softly while he stood up on his two feet. The vent closed shut when he stepped away from it and he took a moment to look around the room. He could see the locked door he wasn't able to get through earlier to his left. But there was a waist-high table against the wall to his right. When he approached the table, he could see a gun of some sort resting on its metal surface.

The weapon appeared to be some kind of rifle. Much of the rifle's sides and stock were made of white plastic with rubber wrapped around the pistol grip. A little ways in front of the grip, there was a thick, rectangular shape sticking out from the bottom of the rifle. It looked almost like a gun magazine, but there were red wires sticking out of it that were attached to the side of the gun.

The barrel was much thinner and circular than the rest of the weapon. It also distinctly metal and was a silvery gray color. What Linwood found strange was that the part where a gun's nozzle would be was instead replaced with a strange cone shape. The cone almost looked like it was made of glass and it was colored bright blue.

"How does the bullet come out?" the bald man murmured to himself.

Linwood reached forward and gingerly picked up the weapon. The gun was much heavier than he expected. He hefted it up and looked down the iron sights. He aimed down the firing range and tried to squeeze the trigger, but it wouldn't budge. Raising an eyebrow, he looked down the side of the weapon to see that the safety switch was on.

"Right…" he mumbled quietly under his breath.

A shiver suddenly ran up his body, and it wasn't because of the cold air. His frontal lobe started pounding, which made him wince every time. Quiet thumping of something hard against metal could just barely be heard, and the man quickly turned to look towards the vent. There was something in there; he just knew it. He slowly pointed the abnormal weapon at the closed vent with shaky hands. Could this weapon even hurt whatever was in there?

Even now that he was armed, Linwood didn't want to take the chance. His legs shifted a little and the clearly terrified man began to gradually make his way towards the door, still aiming at the vent. But as soon as he started moving, the banging suddenly stopped. The only sounds he could pick up was his own quick, yet quiet breaths. He wanted to just run, but his wobbly legs wouldn't let him. If he even tried, he'd more than likely fall over. He practically stumbled as he approached the door. It was a bit difficult holding the heavy weapon with one hand, but he used his off hand to press the emergency button on the wall to deactivate the door lock.

"ACCESS GRANTED." Brother's loud voice spoke out, which actually made the man cry out in surprise.

The door immediately opened after that, but a rapid scurrying sound from the vent was heard. The ventilation shaft's metal opening slowly spread outwards. It was hard to see due to the dimly lit room, but something large and dark skinned crawled out of the bent. It had a long, ridged head and it appeared to lack any eyes. The creature pointed its long head in his direction as it quickly rose to its two feet. Its heavy breaths bore into his very being as he stared at those barred, silver teeth in its mouth. Without thinking, he squeezed the trigger of his weapon as hard as he could.

The gun didn't fire. Instead, the weapon began to violently shake in the man's hands. It was hard to keep steady with the vibrations traveling up his arms. The glass-like cone at the end of the weapon also began to light up. Blue, electric sparks zapped out here and there, but no more than a few centimeters away.

The eyeless creature stopped in its tracks and it slowly tilted its head, as if it was curious as to what that light was. Linwood glanced down at the weapon himself and released the trigger. The weapon harshly recoiled and pushed against his shoulder as a beam of electricity shot out and struck the creature in front of him.

The monster let out a howl of pain as bolts of electricity shot throughout its body and it fell onto the floor with a crash. The creature hissed and screeched while it wailed its clawed limbs in the air in a vicious tantrum.

The bald man stared at the flailing creature with wide eyes and dumbly looked down at the weapon he was holding. This had to be some kind of enhanced stun gun. But then it clicked; when the electricity stopped coursing through the monster's body, it was more than likely going to be angry at him for hurting it.

No sooner did this cross his mind that the energy ceased to course through the creature's body. Linwood gasped in fear and turned on his heels to run without looking back. He didn't check to see if the thing stood up or if it was giving chase. All he knew was that he had to get away as soon as possible. His panting breath echoed through the halls as he ran out of the octagonal room and down a hallway with a single door at the end. Beads of sweat slid down the sides of his face as he held the electric gun close to his chest.

His bare feet skidded to a halt when he reached the door and he slammed the palm of his hand against the open button on the side of the wall. The light on the door flashed green, but the door had a delayed locking mechanism. Now in a full panic, the convict whipped around and aimed his newfound weapon down the hall.

But the hall was empty. Nothing was behind him and there was only silence. His head still pounded however. The hum of the door made Linwood jump and he turned to look into the next room to see some kind of storage room or something. He couldn't quite tell while he was terrified like this. But as he inspected the next room, the dark form of the creature crawled its way into the hallway. It didn't enter by normal means however; it was crawling like a spider on the ceiling, almost blending in with the metal piping.

When Linwood turned his attention back to the hall, his eyes were staring dead ahead, seeing nothing. But right above him. The creature slowly opened its mouth, revealing its second set of jaws.

"Get down."

Linwood felt his heart jump in his throat from the sudden words, but he complied and dived down onto the cold, grated floor. A black blur flew above him, followed by a sickening crack. When he looked up, he could see the ridge-headed creature dead on the floor. A long, thick spike was shoved through the back of its head, which caused its greenish yellow blood to ooze out of the exoskeleton.

Steam began to emit from the floor and the scent of burning metal found its way to the man's nostrils, making his face wrinkle in disgust. When he followed the black spike, he noticed that it was attached to a black, bony tail that connected to another one of those monsters. This one had a smooth, almost transparent dome of a skull instead of a ridged one however. Upon realizing this, the convict forced himself up onto his knees and took aim.

"Please don't shoot me, Mr. Stevenson. I'm not one of them." the same voice from earlier spoke, coming from the creature's general direction.

The spiked tail roughly pulled away from the monster's head at that moment and the still living creature very slowly stood up. It then raised its dark arms above its head in an act of surrender before slowly turning to face the man.

"You… you're that synthetic, right?" Linwood asked, his voice cracking towards the end of his sentence.

"Indeed, I am. My name is Charles, in case you have forgotten." the inhuman machine spoke with its lips peeled back in a sort of grin.

The convict's breath was still shaky with fear, but he lowered the electric gun so it was aimed at the floor. He by no means trusted this thing, but one of the three laws of robotics was that a robot could never harm a human. Of course, that law didn't apply to… whatever those monsters were.

"Why did you save me?" the human demanded and he used the back of his hand to wipe the sweat off of his brows.

Feeling confident that he wouldn't be shot, Charles slowly lowered his arms. He was pleased that the human was rational enough not to attack him. His only hope was that the dead specimen didn't see him before he killed it. If that were the case, then his job would be much more difficult.

"You're an important asset, Mr. Stevenson. The company needs you to live at all costs. I was sent to ensure your survival." the synthetic answered.

"Yeah? Well, I'm not going back to those fuckers." Linwood stated with a harsh voice and a hateful glare.

"I figured as much, but that doesn't change my mission. You need to live, but if you stay in this tower, then you will certainly die. Especially so now that the hive deems you a threat. You shot one of them with that weapon. They all know that now." Charles informed and he took a few steps forward, to which the human stepped back.

"What do you mean?" the convict questioned and he backed up into the storage room.

"The organisms I was built to resemble are called Xenomorphs. Their pheromones allow them to see through each other's eyes. If one sees you, they all see you. They didn't attack you before because of your shared pheromones, but now that you've attacked them, they will deem you a threat. It is also possible that they now deem me as a threat too. And not only that, but nearly the entire hive is in this very tower. We won't last long here." the synthetic calmly explained.

Linwood's glare was replaced with a look of concern. If he knew that, then he would've never shot that monster. He would've ran away instead. His whole body felt cold with fear and he looked down at the electric gun before he turned his gaze back to the machine.

"Then… what should we do?" he asked with a hushed voice.

"We escape to the closest tower. Tower C." the synthetic answered and he pointed a clawed finger up over the man's head.

Linwood looked over his shoulder to see a door on the opposite end of the room. Not only that, but in a glass case to the side, there was a thick, deep sea diving suit as well as a rack of harpoon guns hanging from the wall. There were even a few water bags lying around. And above the door, there was a sign that read "AIRLOCK." If this was the closest route out of here, then he was going to take it. All that mattered was escape.


	15. Lethal Situations

**Kwai kwai nidobak! Personally, I thought this chapter was very fun to write. Sitting in a dark room and listing to smooth music is definitely one way to get inspired. Hopefully, you readers find the chapter as fun to read as it was to write. Remember to leave a review or send me a PM!**

Chapter 15: Lethal Situations

A small tremor shook the entirety of Tower D, but it lasted no more than a second or two. Right outside one of the many airlocks, Linwood cursed under his breath from the shaking. His medical gown was lying useless on the floor, discarded in favor of the diving exosuit next to the airlock door.

The suit weighed half a ton; he had to sit down on the metal bench in the room to keep himself from falling over. The diving suit's color scheme was a neon yellow-green color. And every joint of his body was lined with a black band that wrapped around the appendage. There was a backpack secured to him that not only held the oxygen supply, but there were also small propellers at the bottom of it, which he guessed would help him navigate the ocean outside.

The bald man was securing the helmet over his head while he watched the inhuman synthetic pack the electric gun into a water bag. These bags were both waterproof and resistant to deep sea pressures. He had to agree with Charles that it probably wasn't a good idea to swing an electricity based weapon around while in the water.

The man let out a heavy sigh. He didn't trust this synthetic, nor was he a big fan of robots in general. Sure, he could work with them, but it uneased him that this one didn't even pretend to look human and it openly worked with the company that experimented on him like a lab rat. Plus, simply being around the android gave him the same headache that the other monsters gave him. He wanted to get his mind off this horrible ache in his frontal lobe.

"Tell me about this planet. All I know is its name and it's a water planet." the human commented while he connected the oxygen tubes to his helmet.

The synthetic perked his long head up at this before he fully stood up with the water bag hoisted over his shoulder. It was admittedly a silly sight, but neither of them commented on it.

"Aipaloovik VII, as you know, is an ocean world. There are four towers here, which are named after the first four letters of the alphabet. Towers A, B, and C are mainly focused on studying the marine life that naturally exists on this planet. To our knowledge, there are no landmasses on this planet, besides large glaciers at the poles." Charles explained with his clawed hands clasped behind his back.

"Are there any parts of this colony that aren't underwater?" Linwood asked curiously, his helmet now fully secure and he gave the synthetic his full attention.

"Less than one percent of the colony is above water and it is strictly meant for ships to enter and exit the colony. The reason for this is that we are currently orbiting a Class-B Blue Giant." the synthetic answered.

Linwood's eyes widened upon hearing this information. He was no astrophysicist, but he did have basic knowledge of stars. Blue giants were some of the largest types of known stars, seconded only to blue hypergiants. To put it into perspective, blue giants could be hundreds of times larger than Earth's sun, and were thousands of times hotter. Not only that, but the convict realized that even looking towards such a star, even with one's eyes closed and face covered, the star's immense brightness would easily blind a human. It actually made sense to have nearly the entire colony underwater so that the star's bright rays would be nullified in the deep ocean water.

It was at that moment that the human realized how special this planet was. Considering how extremely hot this star was, it was rather amazing for liquid water to survive on this planet without evaporating. It was possible that Aipaloovik VII was just far away enough for the water not to evaporate or freeze over. It was also possible that the planet's atmosphere was able to protect the water from the heat emitting from the blue giant. Of course, it was also likely that it was a combination of both.

"Alright, Mr. Stevenson. We really must leave this tower." Charles spoke up, breaking the human out of his deep thought.

Linwood shook his head and groaned as he very slowly stood up. This suit must've doubled his bodyweight. He felt like he was gonna collapse at any moment under its weight. But there were bars sticking out of the walls to help with balance, so he grabbed hold of the long bar to his right to keep balance. And with his freehand, he grabbed hold of a harpoon gun from the rack.

The synthetic pushed the button that opened the airlock's door and the two of them stepped inside of the cramped room. Thankfully, there were bars in this room as well. But other than the bars and the door in front of them, there was little to look at.

"Won't you need a suit? Aren't we hundreds of kilometers below the surface?" the human asked with a raised eyebrow, his voice muffled slightly due to his helmet.

"Xenomorphs are capable of withstanding such pressures. Their survivability is quite exquisite. Don't worry, I'll be fine. I was modeled after them, of course." Charles assured.

Linwood had to resist the urge to scoff at this. Once the door was fully shut behind them, the synthetic pressed an open palm against the water release button to the left. Spinning yellow lights began to flash throughout the room and a mechanical clanging noise could be heard behind the metal coverings of the room. Grated panels along the bottom edge of the walls commenced to leak salty water into the room.

"Hey, you never told me how to control this thing." the convict said quickly, feeling sudden nervousness.

"Just push the button on your wrist to turn on your propulsion. It's designed to make you go forward by default. If you need to turn, I'll help direct you." the synthetic stated simply.

Water came out of the grating at a slow, steady pace. The liquid rose up centimeter by centimeter as time went on. A few steady breaths echoed out from the human's helmet during this process. His brown eyes looked down to see the water slowly rise to his helmet's glass view port. He watched the line that separated the air and the water rise up the glass until he was fully encased in water. The suit was still heavy as hell, but it was a little more bearable now that he was submerged.

Once the room was completely filled with water, the double doors in front of them slid in opposite directions, exposing them to the ocean outside. His suit's helmet and chest lights automatically turned on and he could peer into the near blackness ahead. Within the cones of light, the ocean was a deep blue color and it was easy to see sand particles flowing through the water. Up ahead, the towering building that was Tower C stood before them. Dots of light could be seen along the tower's walls, which were presumably windows.

Linwood took deep breaths as he marveled at the tower, but he knew they had to get moving. He was confident enough to let go of the bar and he held the harpoon gun in both hands. He looked over to Charles to see the synthetic kick up off the floor. The android tucked his arms to his sides and swayed his long tail from side to side to propel himself forward. Considering how the synthetic told him to arm himself, he could only assume that these "Xenomorphs" could swim as well.

For a moment, the human was locked in place. Whether it was from fear or anxiety, he couldn't tell. But after some mental coaxing, he willed himself to lift his left foot and step forward. Then he repeated this action with his right foot. It took a long time to walk underwater, but he stepped onto a platform outside the airlock that was lined with red lights.

Charles glanced over his shoulder and barred his teeth in impatience. It was important for them to reach Tower C as soon as possible, yet this man was so slow. If that exosuit wasn't so heavy, he would've just carried the man across.

After several slow steps, the tips of Linwood's boots were over the edge of the platform. Being unable to resist the urge, he leaned forward just a little bit to see the blackness below. Even the intense lights shining from his suit couldn't penetrate the dark that shrouded the bottom of the ocean. What could the bottom of this ocean be like anyway? If it was anything like Earth's, then the sea floor would be sandy and barren. However, if it was deeper than Earth's, which was likely, then the water pressure would be so great that the water would form into a solid, very similar to ice.

Linwood had to shake those thoughts away however. Getting off this planet was his top priority. Languidly, he bent his knees and pressed a small button on his left wrist. At that moment, the small, yet powerful propellers on his back began to spin. Once he began to feel the rotating propellers pushing him forward, he jumped up. Instead of going back down, as gravity would intend, he gradually began to move forward at a steady pace. it was a unique feeling, almost like he was floating. Linwood's never been diving before, so he took all this in with amazement. It was enough to take his mind off his headache and the danger he was in. A smile briefly crossed his lips and he outstretched his arms as much as the suit would allow, almost like a bird.

"Remarkable." he murmured under his breath.

Charles wasn't quite as enthusiastic as his human companion. They were moving much slower than he would have liked. His long head turned this way and that, staying on full alert. The lack of swimming wildlife concerned him. There were usually schools of fish swimming by the colony at all times, sometimes during storms even. Yet there were nothing.

It was unclear to them how much time had passed, but after a long while, they made it about halfway across the gap between the two towers. They were completely in open water. The synthetic peeled his lips back to expose his teeth once more, unbeknownst to the human. Suddenly, Charles took a sharp turn and smashed his shoulder into the man's side.

Linwood grunted as the he was pushed by the synthetic, but he gasped when he witnessed a long, dark figure shoot up from where he was floating a few moments ago. The figure quickly swam out of the suit's cone of light, but Charles' gaze followed the creature even as it swam in the pitch blackness.

Still moving forward, the propellers carried him through the vastness of the ocean. He was about to ask what that thing was when the synthetic shot forward like a bullet. The only thing that indicated his existence was the trail of bubbles that were left behind. His companion followed the figure into the dark, where he couldn't see either of them.

Linwood's chest rose and fell as quick as his fast breaths. He couldn't hear anything. He couldn't see anything. And now, he was alone in open water with only a harpoon gun to defend himself. The grip he had on the harpoon gun tightened as his eyes darted this way and that.

The small propellers on the back cared not for his plight. They continued to propel him forward and Tower C seemed to grow bigger and bigger as he drew closer. His beating heart raced in fear, but he stayed ever vigilant. But there it was again. A long, shadowy figure swam into the cone of light coming from his suit.

"Charles? Is that you?" the human asked.

There was no response. But then again, could that synthetic even talk to him underwater? The figure appeared to be swimming towards him. Something felt wrong about it. It might've been because of how dark it was, but he swore he couldn't see any legs on that figure. And the arms appeared to be way too long. But then he realized something important. When Charles was swimming, his tail swayed from side to side. The tail of this creature was moving up and down as it swam.

A frightened gasp escaped Linwood as his eyes widened. As fast as he could, he lifted the harpoon gun and took aim. It was hard to line up the iron sights however due to his clunky helmet. The creature seemed to sense that its prey was readying to attack, so it swam even faster with its pointed arms bent by its sides.

Linwood squeezed the trigger. What looked like a cloud expulsed from the sides of the barrel as a sharp, arrow tipped harpoon shot out. The creature's long head perked up just a little and it easily moved to the side with a swift turn of its upper body. The harpoon flew right past the creature and at this point, the human could see its sharp teeth, but just barely.

The convict felt a chill run up his spine when the harpoon missed. He squeezed the trigger again, but nothing happened. The damned gun could only be loaded with one harpoon at a time. Not only that, but he didn't bother to grab any extras back at the airlock in Tower D. In his fear-driven state, the man accidentally dropped the near useless harpoon gun, which slowly floated down to the deepest depths below.

This aquatic creature outstretched its pointed arms and parted its large jaw to reveal the second set of teeth within its mouth. But right before it could strike, the slightly smaller body of Charles swam right over Linwood's head and slammed into the creature, which let out a watery shriek. The synthetic sneered at the organic Xenomorph and pushed it right into the outer wall of Tower C. The metal dented from the impact with a deep bang and clouds of dust shot out in all directions from the impact.

When Charles swam over him, the water bag's strap must have come loose or slid off, because it slowly began to sink. Linwood noticed the falling bag. He outstretched his arm to grab it, but his hand missed its mark. And from the sudden movement, it actually caused the bag to sway a bit further away. Cursing and quite desperate at this point, the convict lifted up his foot in an attempt to catch the bag before it could be forever lost. The bag itself just slid off his boot, but the sling caught itself on his foot and around his ankle.

The man let out a small sigh of relief. There was no real way he could reach the bag right now, so he awkwardly kept his leg raised while he moved closer to the tower, where he could see a similar platform he just came from. His eyes were completely focused on the bag that was practically hanging from a thread on his boot. Once he knew he was close enough, he kicked the bag towards the platform, where it landed with an almost inaudible bang. A cloud of dust rose up from the platform when the bag struck the metal, and the same happened when he planted his feet down on the solid surface.

Once on the platform, Linwood quickly raised his arm and pressed the small white button on his left wrist to turn off the suit's propellers. They quickly slowed to a stop and he bent down to pick up the bag. His gloved hands grabbed hold of the waterproof fabric and he lifted it up to about chest level, which covered a few of the lights.

Looking over to his right, he could see the two dark figures slamming one another against the metal wall, making large dents here and there. That synthetic saved his life. Even if it was working for the bastards that experimented on him, this machine risked its own like to save him. But that just made what he was about to do more painful.

The convict turned away from the battle above and slowly walked towards the airlock doors. He quickly pressed his palm against the door's emergency button. All the lights lit up and the double doors pulled apart to allow him entry. The man didn't waste any time rushing into the airlock and once he was fully in, he had the doors closed. He took a deep breath and looked out between the closing doors just in time to see one of the two figures' lifeless bodies floating down. But before he could get a good look at who it was, the doors closed.

* * *

In many ways, Tower C was the heart of the Aipaloovik colony. It was the only way on and off of the planet, the security of the non-classified sections were stationed here, and those in charge of the finances and politics worked here. Many individuals who worked in Tower C were either sending instructions throughout the colony to evacuate Tower B, or were sending S.O.S. signals to the company.

There were sections of the tower that functioned as tram stations, not that dissimilar to subways on other colonies or Earth itself. The tram station that connected the building to Tower D was seldom used since it was mainly meant for emergencies.

The noisy chatter of men and woman within the emergency tram station kept the massive room lively and active. Some questioned why they their work was being interrupted and what purpose there was to being sent to Tower C. All of the benches and chairs were being occupied, so most of the workers and scientists had to either stand or sit on the tiled floor.

Doctor O'Connell, like many others, was standing. Her skinny arms were crossed over her chest with her head tilted down, causing her red hair to mostly hang over her face. She couldn't bring herself to look at the others; the men and women who worked for her. She gave out very little information on the current situation for fear of starting a panic.

The whispers of a possible breech in security was rumored amongst the crowd however and some even asked her if any of the specimens had escaped. Most of the time, she simply pretended not to hear them, but that only seemed to worry everyone even more. It was no secret to her that many of the colonists who worked under her could piece together what was going on, which just made her heart feel heavy.

"Doctor O'Connell?" the voice of Doctor Sarvez spoke out, catching her attention.

Jenny let out a soft sigh and brushed her hand over her forehead to get her hair out of her face. The large man before her stood in front of her with one hand in his lab coat's pocket and the other held a datapad. His expression lacked any emotion, yet the sweat on his chocolate colored skin showed just how distressed he was.

"I don't suppose you have any good news for me, Boris." Dr. O'Connell said sarcastically.

"I have hopeful news, at least… and some bad news." Boris stated regrettably. "The bad news is that the storm is still raging topside. The worst of it has passed, but the pilots say that it still isn't safe to leave orbit. Trying will almost certainly cause any ship we have to crash." he explained.

"And the hopeful news?" she almost demanded, wanting to hear something good for a change.

"We've gotten word from the Company. They've sent a rescue ship to help pick us up. But… they said it will arrive in six hours. It would normally take weeks or even months for a rescue ship to arrive, but one of their ships is making its way to some other colony a few galaxies away from hours, so it's pretty close." he informed her, trying to make the situation seem better than it was.

Jenny deeply frowned as she took in this news. Yes, it was convenient that a Wayland-Yutani ship was so close, but that still left them stranded on the planet for nearly half a day; possibly longer if the storm didn't lighten up. The Xenomorphs had a knack for moving quickly. She didn't doubt for a moment that they could overrun the entire colony in half that time if they were left unchecked. The higher ups in the Company made it quite clear to her just how dangerous the specimens were. She thought she was prepared for anything.

The situation seemed nearly hopeless to her, but she felt Boris' large hand gently rest on her shoulder. Jenny's hazel eyes looked up into the taller man's brown orbs and the two stayed silent. For as long as she's known him, he's done nothing but help her. Despite the bleak scenario they faced, she was certain that he'd be there for her no matter what.

"Tramcar number 14 is now arriving!" Brother loudly spoke out from the loudspeakers.

The din of metal grinding against metal boomed through the large room as a metal tramcar slid through the massive opening on the west side of the room. The tram was connected to tracks that were bolted to the ceiling and floor. Metal railings kept the populace separated from the tracks to prevent accidents. The car itself was rather bland looking. It was a metallic gray in color and a few lights on the front and sides were lit up. Slowly, Brother automatically guided the tram forward. It soon came to stop at the end of the tracks in the far end of the room and everyone made some room so the occupants could exit the vehicle.

"Is that the last one?" Doctor O'Connell questioned with a sigh at the end.

"It's the last civilian one. Yeah. Now we just gotta wait for those three security officers and the prisoner." Boris replied simply, yet with a hushed voice.

Everyone had been waiting for the last of their coworkers to arrive at the tram station. As far as the others new, this was the last car that was planned to arrive. The lights on the sides of the tramcar switched to green to signal that the tram had come to a full stop. Then the tramcars slid open, revealing its dark interior.

It was strange. Usually, there were bright lights within the tramcars, yet it was almost pitch black in there. A black blur suddenly leapt out from within the tram and knocked a security officer to the ground. The officer let out a roar of pain as razor sharp claws punctured through his chest, but he was silenced by a small set of jaws piercing through his forehead.

Many of the scientists and other workers either screamed or watched with fear as the dark figure raised its long, ridged head. It's eyeless face seemed to glare at the crowd and it let out a shrill shriek. And as it shrieked, several similar creatures either walked or crawled out of the tramcar.

"Everybody, get out of here!" one of the security officers screamed at the top of his lungs before he too was pounced on.

Like frightened cattle, the group of people tried desperately to escape the tram station. Some were trampled over as they made their way to the main gates.

"We need to go! Now!" Doctor Sarvez yelled as he grabbed Jenny's arm.

Dr. O'Connell's hazel eyes watched with horror as the specimens attacked her workers. Security tried to shoot at the creatures, but their small caliber weapons merely ricocheted off of the Xenomorph's hard exoskeletons. Those who were closest to the tramcar was easily picked off one my one. Skulls were punctured, limbs were severed, and bodies were torn apart. The smell of blood was evident in the air.

But it wasn't just the horrific scene that froze the doctor. These creatures were parasites. They always kept the majority of their pray alive to be used as hosts. However, these creatures were killing everyone they could get their claws on. Never before has she seen such bloodshed by these creatures. Something was wrong.

"Dammit, Jenny! We have to go!" Boris screamed in her ear and tugged at her arm.

Doctor O'Connell seemed to shake away her stupor at that moment. She quickly reached into her lab coat's pocket and she pulled out the heavy laser pistol she was given an hour ago. The safety was quickly switched off and she stayed close to Doctor Sarvez.

The two of them followed the crowd out fo the tram station and away from the bloodshed. They stopped just outside of the main exit and the two of them quickly opened the door that led to the station's security at the behest of Jenny. Inside the small office, there were two security officers, both were armed with handguns.

"Close the security shutters!" Doctor O'Connell ordered them.

Taking the hint, one of the officers rushed to his computer and typed in a security code. Yellow lights lit up across the main hall and the tram station as a blaring siren rang out. The screams of the dying and ferocious shrieks almost seemed louder than the siren. Boris watched as thick metal plating slowly began to lower from the ceiling, which would cut off the Xenomorphs from the rest of the colony. It would result in the deaths of anyone else still in there, but they needed to keep the civilians safe.

Blue sparks unexpectedly shot out from the electrical wiring along the wall and the large metal door stopped descending when it was about halfway down. More sparks shot out and even a bolt of electricity exploded from the nearby transformer. The electricity struck one of the fleeing scientists, who was immediately stunned and he fell to the ground, dead.

"W-WARNING! I A-A-A-AM EXPERIENCING T-TECH-TECHNICAL DI-DIFFICULTIES! I APOLOGIZE FOR TH-THE INCONVENIENCE!" Brother stuttered and seemingly spat out in a slightly distorted electrical voice.

"Dammit…" Boris murmured in horror under his breath.

Doctor Sarvez watched as the creatures killed the rest of the security force within the tram station. Some of the creatures were even starting to make their way to the main hall. With his heart racing, he grabbed Dr. O'Connell by the arm again and the two of them did the only thing they could do now. They ran.


	16. Pain

**Kwai kwai everyone! All I have to say about this chapter is please don't hate me. I hope you all enjoy the chapter. Remember to leave a review or send me a PM!**

Chapter 16: Pain

Danger was something that was always prevalent to humanity. Whether it being predators during the ancient Stone Age, waging wars against rival factions, or even simple accidents with machinery; death was no stranger to humans. Accidents were more common in space travel and on colonies. Any number of things could go wrong. Heavy or hazardous machinery could malfunction at any point, but that was what maintenance workers and engineers were for. They were meant to help prevent fatalities.

Alien life was not something most people would consider to be a threat however. For the longest time, it was believed that space was dead and that there was no extra-terrestrial life. It wasn't until the last few decades where planets were discovered that had basic life, which grew the demand for exobiologists. But even then, any sort of intelligent or even dangerous alien life was still unheard of, at least to the public.

The double doors to one of Tower C's airlocks slid open with a mechanical hum. Linwood, still wearing the heavy exosuit and carrying the water bag in his right hand, stepped out of the airlock. His sigh echoed through his spherical helmet and he pressed a small switch on his shoulder to switch off the suit's headlights. The area he now found himself in was already brightly lit.

The room was similar to the rectangular room in Tower D, which led to that tower's airlock. Spare suits lined the walls with a few harpoon guns hanging from metal hooks. There were also benches for workers to rest. As soon as the convict noticed the seats, he took it upon himself to walk over to the closest bench and he sat down. His back was starting to hurt from carrying the oxygen tank on his back. The bag was set down by his side and he rested a gloved hand over it.

'Well, I made it here. What now?' he thought to himself with a tired look in his brown eyes.

One of the doors on the other side of the room suddenly opened. A young man with combed back blonde hair stepped into the room with a shining flashlight in hand. Judging from the dirt and oil stains on the man's pants and jacket, Linwood could only assume that this guy was a mechanic. The boy shined his flashlight at the convict. Linwood groaned softly and raised his gloved hand to cover his eyes.

The young man seemed to notice that he was agitating the older man, so he lowered his flashlight a little. Once the flashlight was off his eyes, Linwood lowered his arm and the kid could get a decent look at his face through the curved glass.

"Who are you?" the kid asked with an accent that was unfamiliar to the convict.

"I'm no one important… I'm from Tower D." Linwood carefully replied.

"Tower D? Um, maybe you should talk to my supervisor." the blonde haired kid said a bit uncomfortably.

"No." the convict said quickly, but he was heedful not to raise his voice or sound threatening. "Look, could you help me take off this suit, please?" he requested.

The mechanic looked very hesitant, but he nodded and walked over to the benches and set down his flashlight. Linwood mumbled a thanks and the two of them worked together to get the soaking wet suit off of him. Hissing air escaped through the crevices of the helmet when it was separated from the rest of the suit. Then the backpack was unhooked from the back and the buckles were loosened.

Linwood let out a relieved sigh as the cool air touched his sweaty skin. He was glad to have all that weight off of him. The upper half of the suit hung from his waist, but he didn't bother to take off the leggings and boots for now. After all, he wasn't wearing anything under the suit.

"So… are you really from Tower D?" the kid asked as he took a step back and he moved his bangs out of his eyes.

"Well, I've spent the last day or so there." the older bald man honestly replied.

Linwood sighed as he stood up and rolled his bare shoulders. He knew that the mechanic was watching his every move, but he didn't seem to care that much.

"I should really get my supervisor. You'll probably wanna talk to him, not me." the mechanic commented and he briefly looked away and at the now closed exit.

But that was all the time that was needed. From that mere second of opportunity, the convict reached over and grabbed the kid's flashlight. He firmly gripped the device's handle and rushed towards the kid. The young mechanic let out a startled cry before the flashlight's handle was hammered down right onto his temple. He was dazed from the harsh strike, but then the bald man struck him again, the side of the head this time.

This made the mechanic fall to the floor with a thud. This didn't stop the convict however. He raised his heavy boot and slammed it down onto the kid's face. The mechanic tried to raise his hands to protect his bleeding head, but the convict bent down and forced the boy's hands away with his freehand. Struggle as he may, he was powerless as the flashlight was hammered down onto his head once more. Then again, and again.

Linwood barred his teeth and loudly grunted every time he brought the flashlight down. A particular hard blow to the mechanic's nose caused blood to leak out from both nostrils. After the seventeenth strike to the head, the mechanic passed out and went still. He limply lied on the floor as he snored due to brain trauma.

The convict panted heavily and dropped the bloody flashlight to the ground before he sat down next to the unconscious kid. It was obvious to him that he did some serious damage to the mechanic. A sudden look of disgust crossed his face and he looked down at his bloodied hands.

"Why do I do stupid shit?" the bald man quietly asked himself.

There was probably a way he could have gotten out of that situation without violence, but the first thing that came to his mind was to hurt the kid. That mechanic was probably no older than twenty one. And now, if the kid survived this whole mess, he'd probably have brain damage because of HIS actions.

Another sigh escaped Linwood's lips and he slowly stood up. He was a bit shaky from the adrenaline fading away and he almost collapsed on his way up. Once he was fully standing, he stripped off the rest of the exosuit and tossed it onto the floor. But now he was naked and with no clothes. It didn't feel right, but he needed to cover up somehow. So, he bent down and began to undress the snoring mechanic until he was only in his undergarments.

One by one, Linwood put on the mechanic's clothes. The beige boots were a bit too big for his feet, but it didn't matter to him. Other than the boots, the clothes were nearly a perfect fit. The brown work pants fully covered his legs and the white t-shirt was comfortable enough. And there was only a tiny bit of blood on the collar. He didn't really like the light brown jacket, since the Company's logo was stitched onto the back. And there was more blood on it than the shirt, so he left the jacket with the unconscious mechanic. And in good nature, he decided to leave the kid's wallet in his jacket. Sure, he might need money after he got off this planet, but robbery never was his thing, even in prison.

Once he was fully dressed, the convict walked over to the water bag and opened it. Carefully, he pulled out the electric gun and looked over it. Thankfully, there didn't seem to be any water on it, so he ruled out the possibility of shocking himself by accident. Now he just needed to get out of there.

Linwood didn't even look at the kid as he walked past him and towards the door, which opened automatically. He paused at the doorway for a moment, completely silent. With a small shake of his head, he continued on his way, leaving the mechanic to his fate.

* * *

The crowds of Tower B were quite bothersome to Michael. All they did was get in the way. Most of them didn't even bother to maneuver around his group as the crowds walked directly towards him. Doctor Bounland actually called some of them out on their rudeness, but the synthetic politely excused anyone who bumped into him. Most likely, no one even realized the immediate danger they were all in.

No one saw what they saw. That dragon that burst through the window in the medical wing. Not even high pressured water could break through that glass, yet that monster was able to break its way into the tower. Doctor Bounland told him and Angela that he would personally fly them off the planet, whether it was raining or shining out on the surface. Michael wasn't sure if that was the safest course of action, but they had to, at the very least, get out of Tower B.

Angela was staying close behind the synthetic. She did not want to stray too far from him with this many people around. It kind of made her feel like a little girl following her parents in the mall or a big city. Even with that monster skulking around somewhere, it brought her some comfort being near him. And their new furry friend helped too.

The albino woman looked down at the greyhound by her side. Butter panted lightly and looked up at her in return with her brown eyes. Angela gently pet the animal's head before she looked over at Michael again.

Angela always found it kind of strange that they were so close, such good friends. He was a machine, a robot, yet he's shone her more compassion than most people ever have. In a way, he felt more human than most of her coworkers and past acquaintances. She's never felt so safe around anyone in her life.

"The bridge is just down the hall." the synthetic's voice broke her train of thought.

There were far less people in this hallway compared to the others they traversed a moment ago. But there was a security checkpoint by the entrance to one of the many bridges that connected Towers B and C together. The doorway was open and they could easily see down the brightly lit bridge. Security seemed to be more tense than usual. They were all armed with shotguns and even pulse rifles. One of the officers with a rifle quickly spotted the group and he held his hand up.

"Turn around! No one is to cross the bridge at this time!" the officer called out.

Michael and the others slowed to a stop in front of the officers. Butter let out a soft whine and Doctor Bounland stepped forward with his ID held up.

"I am Doctor Liam Bounland. I have Class C clearance." he announced.

"It doesn't matter what clearance you have. We were told that no one enters Tower C at this time. Leave for Tower A immediately." the officer sternly stated.

"Officer, a sea creature broke through the window in my work station. Step aside so I can take my patients the bloody hell out of here!" the doctor spoke with a raised voice and his hands balled into fists.

A few of the other officers chimed in that the doctor and his group had to leave. They completely ignored the warnings of the sea monster down in medical. Both Michael and Angela spoke up to confirm the doctor's story. There was some kind of creature on the tower and they wanted to get off the planet. But security kept telling them to leave and that it wasn't safe to fly with this weather.

Tensions rose and talking turned into shouting. Butter whined and took a few steps back. Her heart was racing and her breathing was irregular. Unable to support herself, she slowly laid down on her side. Angela could hear the dog's whines despite the shouting and she bent down to check on the animal.

"Butter? Are you okay?" she asked with concern.

Everyone noticed the weakened greyhound and the yelling ceased. Butter was limp on the floor with only her rapidly rising and falling chest moving. Her eyes were tightly closed in pain and she let out a long whine of agony. Everyone jumped at the sound of a crack, as if bones were being broken.

The beige fur around Butter's chest turned red as bits of blood and flesh shot out and onto Angela's torso. Angela screamed in surprise and her eyes watered as she watched pieces of the dog's ribs jutting out of its chest.

Butter went still as her chest completely burst open in a mist of red. A long, thin head tore its way out of the corpse's chest. Its eyeless face looked up at Angela's tear-stricken face. A thin arm slowly came free of the dog's chest and it stretched its clawed fingers as it hissed.

"K-kill it! Kill that thing!" Doctor Bounland shrieked in fear.

Angela was frozen in shock. She barely reacted as Michael's strong arms wrapped around her waist and she was pulled away from the… monster. A few of the officers took aim with their weapons, but in the blink of an eye, the bloodied creature tore itself free from Butter's corpse. It quickly stood on all fours and sprinted off. The bangs of gunfire rang out, but the officers' only reward was leaving bullet holes in the floor. The speedy creature rushed down the hall and quickly took a left, resulting in the screams of several unsuspecting people.

Everyone was in complete shock. One of the officers began to speak into his radio to report the situation while three others rushed down the hall to chase after the monster. They followed the tiny red footprints and turned down the hall after it.

"Bloody hell…" Doctor Bounland murmured under his breath.

Angela let out a sob and she turned around to press her face against Michael's chest. She cried as she wrapped her arms around him and he comfortingly hugged back. She couldn't bring herself to look at Butter's body.

One of the officers, the one who stopped them in the first place, looked down at the bloodied tracks on the floor. He swallowed heavily and stepped to the side.

"I don't get paid to let people die." he mumbled.

"Sir?" the man with the radio asked, but he was ignored.

"You civilians go on through and get out of here. Be warned, Tower C isn't any safer… I never saw you." the first officer told the group with his head down and his heart heavy.

Doctor Bounland and Michael quickly glanced at one another with surprised looks. Even the doctor had nothing to say about this. He placed his hands into his coat pockets and walked past the guards and down the long bridge. However, he stopped and looked over his shoulder, waiting for his two companions. Michael looked down at Angela and gently rubbed the back of her head.

"We have to go." he whispered to her.

Angela sniffed and slowly looked up into his blue eyes. She nodded slowly and the two of them walked past the officers and onto the bridge. They could hear those men beginning to argue amongst themselves, but the group paid them no mind. She, Michael, and Doctor Bounland walked side by side down the long bridge.

The lights under the grated floor shined brightly below their feet. The mighty Tower C was ahead of them. Angela's still watery eyes looked up the tower. It was so tall that she couldn't see the top past the murky water. This building was the only tower in the colony that breathed the water's surface. Their escape was so close now, but she couldn't stop thinking about what just transpired.

"Why did that poor dog have to die?" she asked, trying to resist the urge to cry again.

"It was one of those dragons, like in that book I lent to you." Michael answered with a frown.

As the synthetic spoke, he unzipped his duffel bag and pulled the flamethrower out and into the open. He didn't care who stopped them at this point. If he had his weapon out, he could have stopped that vile creature before it could have a chance to flee. Now he feared that it would harm others.

"Are you saying these things are parasites?" the doctor asked and he placed a hand over his own chest.

"The author explained that a Lieutenant Ripley claimed that their young developed inside the chest cavities of other organisms." the synthetic replied. "The book failed to go into details on the matter. It mostly referred to how the creature killed everyone and that they themselves can be killed." he added.

"And how did they manage to kill it?" Liam quickly asked.

"They used molten lead and water. It is my hope that extreme heat alone can harm them, which is why I built this." Michael explained and he held up his crudely made flamethrower.

A sudden crack made the three of them jump in surprise. To their left, one of those aquatic creatures was pressing against the glass surface that separated them from the ocean. Its sharp teeth were barred menacingly and one of the sharp, spiked arms had struck the glass. A spider web of cracks was all around the point of contact, but the glass stayed strong.

"Run!" Doctor Bounland screamed.

Michael's eyes were wide with surprise and he nudged Angela in front of him before they bolted into a full sprint. The dark creature released a watery roar before its other arm crashed down onto the glass, this time piercing through. Jets of water began to spray into the bridge. The lights under the floor turned yellow and flashed to signal the breach.

The officers back at Tower B noticed the changing lights and they had the door close to prevent the creature from entering the tower. And the door at Tower C was also closed. The three of them ran towards the tower as the monster kept slamming its arms down on the glass, causing more leaks.

Water quickly spread through the floor and some of the lights began to short circuit. The lights closest to the creature went dark while the two humans and lone synthetic could feel the water under their feet. They all ran up to the closed door to Tower C, where there was a single red button that would allow them entry. With her heart racing in her chest, Angela pressed her palm against the button, but nothing happened.

"Open up, god dammit!" she screamed in fear as another loud clang was heard behind them, followed by the sound of more jets of water.

Thinking fast, and in desperation, Michael moved her to the side and slung the flamethrower over his shoulder. He grabbed hold of the panel the button was attached to and with all his strength, pulled it off the wall. A few hot sparks flew out of the wall, but he ignored the small burns on his chest and chin. The water was up to their knees now. A few wires hung from the wall where the panel once was and he grabbed hold of two red ones. He pressed the wires together so the copper connected and another spark shot into his face. Small dots appeared on his chin and lower face as his skin was burned, but he didn't even flinch.

With a mechanical whirring sound, the door forced itself open and the water rushed into the dark room. By this point, a loud crash was heard and they all glanced behind them. A waist-high wall of water quickly rushed forward and they were all knocked on their feet as the water smacked into them. The salty water forced them into the first room of Tower C.

Michael kept his arm outstretched in an attempt to keep the water off of his weapon and he was the first to regain his footing. The water was up to his waist now and it was steadily rising. Two gasps were heard and he looked over to see the doctor and horticulturalist get up so their faces were out of the water.

"We need to shut the door!" the synthetic yelled to them.

"Stay back, Angela! Get away from the door!" Doctor Bounland yelled to Angela.

The white haired woman breathed shakily and shivered from the cold water, but she nodded. She began to move to the opposite side of the room as fast as she could without tripping. Meanwhile, the doctor and engineer rushed to the still open door. Being closest to the door, Michael slammed his fist into the remaining button to the door.

There was a short pause, but that whirring from before was heard and the door began to slowly shut. Doctor Bounland panted as he came to a stop by the synthetic's side and he rested his hands on his knees.

But right before the door could fully close, two black limbs rushed through the crevice between the double doors. The large monster from before hissed as it used its brute strength to push the doors back open. Angela looked back at the scene and screamed in horror when she saw the monster poking its head and arms out of the water.

Almost like a snake, the creature's tail rose out of the water. Doctor Bounland stared at the appendage with a horrified look. The tail was long and bony looking. The sides were lined with spikes that were connected by thin, leathery skin, almost like fins. And worst of all, the tail ended with a sharp barb.

Even though it only happened in a split second, everything seemed to slow down for the Liam Bounland. Sweat and sea water dripped down his brows while he stood there with fear. He watched that sharp barb move closer and closer to him until everything turned red, then black.

Michael and Angela watched as the creature stabbed its tailblade clean through Doctor Bounland's forehead and out the back of his skull. His gray hair was stained red with blood and he collapsed into the water when the tail ripped out of his skull and back towards its owner.

The synthetic, in a fit of what humans called anger or anguish, unslung his flamethrower and lit the plasma torch at the end of the barrel. The creature turned its long head to face him and hissed with its mouth wide open. Upon squeezing the trigger, propane sprayed out of the nozzle of the weapon. The blue flame ignited the spray, which caused red and yellow fire to shoot out into the monster's face.

A loud howl echoed through the hall and the murderous creature quickly backed away into the bridge. As soon as it moved, the double doors slammed closed. Michael lessened the pressure on the trigger and the flames ceased. Some bright yellow drips of propane leaked from the nozzle for a few seconds, but the flow soon stopped.

Everything was eerily silent. Most of the lights were either off or flickering. The water was above their waists as well, almost halfway up their stomachs. Doctor Bounland's corpse was floating at the water's surface, his lifeless eyes staring at the ceiling. The synthetic shook his head and looked away from the corpse. He carefully walked over to Angela and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you okay?" he asked softly.

Angela had tears streaming down her cheeks. She hiccupped and sobbed heavily as she threw her arms around him once more. Michael listened to her cries as he placed an arm around her. He had no words of comfort for her and nothing to say. Doctor Bounland, Butter, and who knows how many others were dead. And neither of them knew why this was happening.

Michael wanted to spend the moment to comfort her, but the excessive banging of the creature against the door meant that it still wanted to kill them. He tried to lightly nudge her along with his arm and the two fo them made their way out of the partially flooded room.


	17. Technical Complications

**Kwai kwai nidobak! I don't normally condone talking about drama related topics here, but a guest reviewer wrote something in the reviews that I wish to reply to. They claimed that I wait for a number of reviews before publishing a new chapter. One of the things I hate most about people is when they make false assumptions. The number of reviews I receive is irrelevant to me. I only write "remember to leave a review, etc.," because I think it sounds catchy. I have a life outside of writing. I don't get paid to do this. Writing is just a side hobby when I have free time, which happens less often than I would like. I spent three weeks on and off writing the last chapter, so some person basically calling me greedy for not writing frequently and waiting for reviews makes me angry. Criticism is one thing, which I encourage, but I don't like being antagonized for no good reason. I do not tolerate people making false accusations about me, for I find it offending and rude. I apologize to those of you this rant doesn't affect, but there was no way I could contact this person directly. Anyway, I hope you all like the chapter. Remember to leave a review or send me a PM!**

Chapter 17: Technical Complications

Things were not going well in Tower D. Bodies scattered the floors of the halls and science labs. For the most part, the lifeless halls were silent, save for the occasionally creaking of metal due to the hurricane causing the entire tower to shake.

The detention center wasn't fairing any better than the rest of the building. The halls and offices were nearly dead silent. Within the section's main office, Sergeant Shanza was pointing his revolver at the only door that led in and out of the office. He was crouched and resting on his right knee. While he crouched on that spot with his weapon at the ready, he had his riot shield raised at all times just in case he needed to defend himself.

The two vents inside the room were both blocked off. He and his lieutenant piled some chairs from the other room in front of the vents to help ward off any of the creatures that would try to get into the room. Of course, they both knew that the test subjects could get in if they were determined enough. But even if they attempted to force their way in, the chairs would alert the two officers to their presence and more importantly, their location.

Sergeant Shanza looked away from the door for but a moment. He glanced over to his right and sighed when he saw Corporal Cobalt's limp body resting against the wall. That damn parasite was still clinging to her face with its thin tail coiled around her neck. As much as it pained him to think about it, he felt that the best option would be to shoot her now. At least she wouldn't feel the agony of birthing one of those monsters if she was already dead. But when he suggested taking her life, Lieutenant Johanson scolded him.

"As long as they breathe, no man or woman gets left behind on my watch." he recalled the lieutenant saying.

The sergeant didn't like any of it. He didn't want her to suffer with that thing in her chest, but the lieutenant was adamant about keeping her alive. Said something about how the Company can safely extract the parasite from her chest. He wasn't sure if he believed that, considering what happened to all the prisoners the Company brought to the colony. Perhaps it was simply an expensive process, he didn't know.

Joe Shanza sighed again and looked back at the door. Killing the corporal seemed like the best thing to do in his opinion, but who was he to question his superior? He just hoped Johanson knew what he was doing.

Lieutenant Johanson was at the computer desk on the other end of the room. The clicks of keyboard keys echoed through the room as he typed in some classified codes. The ex-marine finally managed to pop up a window with a red outline and a black background. White text began to appear at a fast rate across the screen. It was mostly just rambling bullshit about how the self-destruct sequence should only be activated under an extreme emergency and with the go ahead from the Company itself. All he had to type in was the final code in the white box below the wall of text. Only he and a select few scientists were aware of the code. He sharply inhaled he began to type.

"WYC2-PR3D-1987."

Adam Johanson hesitated pressing the enter key. Blowing up this section could have far reaching affects. It could impinge the other towers if something went wrong, but he felt that the risk was worth it. The Empress could not be allowed to leave this section. Even Doctor O'Connell understood this. No, this had to happen. So, he pressed his pinky finger down on the enter key.

The alarms immediately began to blare out from all directions as soon as the key was pressed. A line of text ran across the screen that acknowledged the code before the screen went black. There was no turning back now.

Spinning yellow lights activated throughout the section they were in. Loud hissing of an untold number of Xenomorphs throughout the tower rang through the entire detention center in a haunting manner. And static began to play over the loudspeakers, but it was barely audible over the not-too-distant creatures.

"S-SE-SE-SELF-DEST-STRuctION ACTIVATED! PLEASE EV-EVACUATE THE DE-DETENTION SE-SEC... SECTOR immEDIATELY!" Brother boomed in a heavily distorted voice.

Dreaded howling continued to ring out throughout the section, no doubt from the creatures. Lieutenant Johanson loudly cursed as he picked his rifle off of the desk. He was hoping that he'd at least set off the self-destruct sequence before the creatures could make it to their floor. But judging by how close those sounds were, they were very close by.

"Sergeant Shanza, we gotta go!" Adam called out.

The sergeant nodded without argument and he holstered his revolver. Adam quickly jogged over to him and grabbed his riot shield before he helped strap it to Joe's back. They both hoped that the shield would be enough to protect him from the creatures' claws and acid. These shields were never field tested against these things.

Once the shield was secured to his back, Joe Shanza walked over to the unconscious corporal. He sighed again before he bent down and picked her up, bridal style. It was very uncomfortable for him to be carrying her with the massive shield on his back, but if the lieutenant wanted her safe, then he'd be the one to carry her out of here. The lieutenant was a much better shot anyway.

Howls and hissing continued all around them. It was more than likely that the blaring alarms were disturbing them by quite a huge margin. Taking point, Lieutenant Johanson aimed down his pulse rifle's sights and speedily pressed his palm against the "open" button next to the metal door.

Some sparks shot out from above them before the door slid open with a mechanical hum. The Lieutenant kept his back arched and eye down his weapon's sights while he steadily walked into the next room. Shanza stayed close behind him with Corporal Cobalt in his arms. The room they found themselves in was the science room with all the cubicles from before. The dead Carrier was still lying on the floor in the center of the room. Its acidic blood had burned numerous holes into the floor and some of the walls.

Adam Johanson's face wrinkled with disgust at the smell of burnt metal, but that was the least of his worries. The howling had quieted down a bit, but they could still hear it coming from all sides. He didn't even bother to turn on his motion tracker. He knew they were surrounded. It just begged the question if the creatures knew where he and his partners were or not. A small sigh escaped the lieutenant and he led the way out of the room and into the hallway with the rippled glass.

"I feel like we're being watched." Sergeant Shanza whispered, but it was enough to get the lieutenant to flinch.

"That's because we probably are. Now zip it." the former marine hissed quietly.

The two of them turned the corner and they could just barely see down the hallway that led to the reception desk. It was a little hard to see with all the flashing lights, but there was something wrong up ahead. Automatic doors always closed after people moved through them. The two officers knew that the door to the reception room was supposed to be closed, yet it was wide open. No, not open. It looked like something tore through it. As they drew nearer to the doorway, they saw that the was metal bending outwards, as if something tore and pushed through it. That door was solid steel. Not even a pissed off synthetic could get through with brute force.

And there was a sound coming from the next room. Breathing. Come to think of it, the howling had stopped too. Something was seriously wrong. Under any other circumstance, Adam would have his squad find another way towards their target, the exit, but there simply wasn't time. They needed to leave as soon as possible.

Even looking at the back of his head, Sergeant Shanza knew his superior was thinking about their next move. A sense of dread enveloped him as they stood there, by the torn open doorway. He was a bit startled when the lieutenant began to move forward. He didn't want to go in there, but he forced himself to move forward.

The reception area was much darker than it was before. All of the standard lights had shut off the moment the lieutenant activated the self-destruct sequence. Instead, only the blinking yellow lights guided them.

The breathing grew louder as soon as they entered the room. Something wet hit Sergeant Shanza's left ear, which made him jump. He looked straight up and his heart sank when he saw multiple figures moving around on the dark ceiling. It was hard to see, but he knew they were there. But why weren't they attacking?

The din of thumps brought both officers on full alert. The thumping was coming from directly in front of them. Lieutenant Johanson very slowly moved his hand down his weapon and switched on the flashlight that was attached to the side of the barrel. A cone of light appeared in front of him, allowing them to see through the dark.

Within the flashlight's gaze, a massive creature walked into view from behind a large column. It was a massive, four armed Xenomorph. The extra set of arms were smaller than the primary ones, and they were tucked by the creature's ribbed chest. The creature itself must've stood about twenty feet in height. Its head wasn't like the others either. It was wide and appeared like a biological crown of sorts.

'The Empress.' the lieutenant thought to himself with his eyes wide with alarm.

Both officers immediately realized the severity of the situation. The Empress, the test subjects' leader and source of procreation was standing before them. But how was it possible that it escaped its containment cell? And where did the creatures on the ceiling come from?

But Sergeant Shanza realized how the Xenomorphs got in. When the officers entered the detention center through the reinforced double doors earlier, they never closed the doors behind them. Lieutenant Johanson had hoped that he and his squad would've been in and out before any of the creatures could get in, but then that Carrier attacked them and slowed their progress. That short delay was all the Xenomorphs needed to get in.

The lieutenant mentally scolded himself for his irresponsibility when he put two and two together, but the heavy breathing of the Empress was enough to draw his attention back to her. The tall Xenomorph took a single step forward and arched her back. Her lips slowly peeled back to reveal her long, needle-like teeth.

Sergeant Shanza stared at her with his eyes wide behind his glasses. His legs were shaking and he kept a tight grip on the corporal's unconscious body. It was unclear to him why they weren't being attacked yet. He briefly considered whether these creatures were aware that the lieutenant's gun could harm them or not. Or perhaps, it was Corporal Cobalt. Maybe they didn't want her to be harmed since she had their young inside of her now.

Either way, they were still breathing. The lieutenant knew that he needed to stall for as much time as possible if he wanted to get out of this alive. Taking a huge chance, Adam took a few slow steps to the left. Sergeant Shanza felt his heart jump when he witnessed his superior move, but he chose to mimic the man's actions.

The Empress herself watched them with her eyeless gaze. A low toned hiss escaped her while her head turned to watch them, yet she didn't move. It at least seemed that she was content on observing them for now.

Thump. Thump.

The Lieutenant's heart pumped so loud in his chest, he was afraid the creatures would hear it. He knew they were all watching him and his partner. There was no doubt in his mind that his partner believed he was completely mad at this point, but the clock was ticking and they needed to act.

To the left of the massive open doorway, there was a metal podium with a switch attached to its base. The problem was that it was right next to the Empress' leg. Very slowly, the two officers moved in a clockwise rotation around the room and towards the switch. Keeping the flashlight traced on the Empress at all times, they could see her watching their every move. She loudly hissed when they were mere meters away from her. A few thuds were heard as some of her children dropped from the ceiling and onto the ground, but none attacked. At least, not yet,

Lieutenant Johanson was in a cold sweat from nervousness. He kept his weapon trained on the Empress, yet her flexing claws could strike out at him at any moment. He reached a shaky hand out towards the switch and grabbed hold of it. He still held his pulse rifle with his finger lightly pressed against the trigger. He stood still like that for a few moments. It was now or never.

It seemed to go by in a flash. The moment the former marine pulled down the lever, he squeezed the trigger. Instead of a spray of bullets, his grenade launcher fired a 30mm explosive at the Empress' feet. As soon as the round made contact with the floor, it detonated in an explosion of violent hot gas and steel shrapnel. The metal shrapnel simply bounced off of the Empress' thick exoskeleton, but the explosion alone was enough to knock her off her feet. It almost made him fall over too, but he stayed upright. She crashed down onto the floor with an ear-piercing howl. But at the same time, the mechanical whirring of the doors was heard. The double doors began to slowly slide shut.

"Run!" the former marine screamed at his partner.

Sergeant Shanza was shocked by what his lieutenant just did, but he didn't have time to think. The two men went into a full sprint. The creatures all hissed and shrieked as they closed in towards the offending humans. The Empress quickly got to her feet again and howled in rage with drool dripping from her chin.

Lieutenant Johanson ran through the crevice between the closing metal doors. Being so thick, the doors closing around him made his heart race with claustrophobia, but he ignored it the best he could. He ran into the safety of the main hall outside before he looked back to check on his partner.

Joe was panting as he carried the corporal through the closing doors. He was almost home free when he felt something grip his ankle. A terrified scream escaped his lips as he fell to the floor and Corporal Cobalt rolled a little ways away from him in the next room; thankfully, out of harms way. One of the smaller monsters with a ridged skull had grabbed hold of his flailing leg and it was trying to drag him back to its Empress.

"Help me!" he shouted in pure horror from between the closing doors.

Lieutenant Johanson's heart was racing, but he refused to stand idly by and let these things take his partner. He rushed back to the doors and grabbed Joe's arm with his offhand. Try as he may, he didn't have the strength to pull his friend out of there. Xenomoprhs were recorded to be much stronger than humans, occording to the egg heads who ran this place. The lieutenant was actually being pulled into the room with his partner. He grunted as he tried to pull with all his might and he even placed his foot against the closing door for support.

All the screeching and howling coming from in there, on top of the sergeant's screaming unnerved Adam. He let out a desperate yell and suddenly aimed his gun through the door sand fired a long burst of bullets at the creatures. The monster that was holding Shanza let out a shriek as a part of its shoulder was blown off, but it refused to let go. And worse, some of the acid blood had landed on the sergeant's shield. Smoke began to emit from the reinforced glass as the acid easily burned through and into his back.

The horrid smell of burning flesh began to fill Adam's senses. He gagged from the smell, but continued to try to pull his friend free. Shanza's screaming was horrible and they were both halfway into the detention center. The Empress hissed as she stood over them.

"No! Save me! SAVE ME!" Sergeant Shanza screamed with pained tears in his eyes.

Despite all the horrible sounds, a certain sound drew the lieutenant's attention. The pop of a bone. Then a horrible pain shot through his whole arm and back. In his attempt to pull the sergeant away from the monsters, his arm had dislocated from his socket. A scream of pain escaped from him as he instinctively let go.

With nothing else stopping them, the creature that was holding Shanza dragged him fully into the detention center. He cried and screamed to be saved as more Xenomorphs surrounded him and dragged him into the darkness. Then the Empress looked directly at the lieutenant.

Adam's vision was blurry with pain. He could barely feel his left arm, which hung uselessly from its socket. His right hand was shaking and he accidentally dropped his pulse rifle. Shakily, he got to his feet and rapidly backed away from the Empress. She hissed and suddenly grabbed hold of the still-closing doors. The screeching of grinding metal overshadowed all the other sounds of the room as she forced the doors to stay partially open.

Despite all the force pushing the doors closed and how heavy the metal was, she was keeping it open. Lieutenant Johanson let out shaky breaths as he stumbled away and he saw many of the creatures crawling out from between the doors to get to him.

Then there was a flash of white and yellow light, followed by a loud explosion. A wave of heat brushed past the lieutenant as he was knocked several meters away. He painfully landed on his dislocated arm and shouted from the pain. The only sound he could hear was ringing. It sounded much louder in his right ear than his left. Even with his eyes closed, he could see stars.

As the ringing began to quiet down a little, he opened his eyes to see the closed double doors in front of him. The Empress must've released her grip when the explosion happened. Come to think of it, the area where the two doors met was singed black. There were also dead Xenomorphs lying on the floor by the closed off entrance to the detention center. Some of their blood was burning holes in the floor. Not only that, but there were small fires on the floor here and there that would no doubt spread if they were left unchecked.

Lieutenant Johanson violently coughed and slowly got up onto his knees. He felt light headed, and the air felt dry and hot. But there was no time to rest. Looking to his right, he could see Corporal Cobalt lying on the floor, still breathing with that thing on her face.

Stumbling to his feet, Adam walked over to her and with his one good arm, he picked the woman up and carried her over her shoulder. His hand was gripped around her waist to keep her steady and he began his trek to the tram station. He never looked back while he limped along. His left arm was limp and useless; his right arm was being used to carry his one surviving partner. It was clear he was defenseless, but he didn't care. He finished his objective and now he had to get to Tower C.

Pain was an ever present reminder of what just transpired. All he wanted to do was lie down and sleep, but that was against his training. He seemed to grunt in agony with every step he took, but he never stopped. With only his unconscious partner for company, he walked for what seemed like miles until he reached the only tram station in the entire tower. Just like he was promised, the tram car was open and waiting for him. The entire station was eerily silent, but that could've just been his blown out ears being unable to detect sound.

The former marine shambled into the tramcar and practically dropped the corporal onto the cushioned seats that lined the inside of the tramcar. He then pressed his burned thumb against the red button at the front of the car and the door closed. The whole tramcar briefly shook before it steadily began its course for Tower C. The lieutenant let out a heavy sigh as he sat down opposite of the corporal. Finally, he was safe.

* * *

When the Xenomorphs first arrived in Tower C, it was pure chaos. Even with the small number of them in the tower, the sounds of distant screams and gunfire filled the halls. Most of the staff from Tower D were wiped out in the initial attacks, but the rest scattered. Whether they remained alive or were picked off later on was unknown. In mere minutes, the upper half of Tower C had gone deathly silent.

Two scientists from Tower D stayed together at all times however. And those individuals were Doctor Sarvez and Doctor O'Connell. Their whole security force had been wiped out back at the tram station, which left them alone together.

Boris Sarvez frowned when he remembered that gruesome scene and the stench of death. When that blast door malfunctioned and allowed the Xenomorphs to spread through the tower, the only thing he could think to do was to grab Doctor O'Connell by the arm and run. The two of them ran for a long time and didn't stop until the two of them nearly collapsed from exhaustion. At the time, neither of them cared where they went, they were just grateful to be alive.

Now, the two scientists were walking through a long, rounded hallway. The quiet buzzing of the outdated fluorescent lights above their heads and their loud footsteps were the only noises to be heard. Written along the wall, there were the words "elevator next left." written in white, bold text with a white arrow pointing towards the direction they were walking in.

"Elevator?" We can use that to get to the hanger." Doctor O'Connell murmured, still taking in large gulps of air from running so much a little while ago.

"That's the plan." Boris mumbled.

It wasn't often that he traversed these halls, but he recalled a few workers complaining that the directions around this area were too vague. He knew that once they took the next left, they still had to go through a few rooms before they would reach the elevator. He wasn't sure if Doctor O'Connell was aware of this however. She spent nearly all of her time back in Tower D. If it wasn't for him, he figured she'd be lost by now.

Just as the text indicated, they soon came across a metal door to their left, which had a small green light in the center. The hall continued beyond the door, but Doctor Sarvez knew it wouldn't lead them to the hanger bay. Once they stood in front of the door, it beeped and slid open. The room that was revealed to them was much darker than the hallway. None of the lights were on.

"I don't like this." Jenny thought aloud and she tightly gripped her laser pistol with both hands.

Boris flinched at her words. He really wished that she would stop talking so much. Her constant comments was more than likely a coping tactic, but Boris was afraid one of the test subjects would hear her if she didn't keep quiet.

Without a word, the dark skinned man stepped into the room with the redhead close behind him. Lights from above flickered on once the motion sensors detected them. The area they found themselves in was massive and rectangular shaped. The floor was metal and grated, which allowed them to see down the floor below them. There must've been a leak somewhere, for the entire floor below them was flooded with water.

"Oh god…" Jenny whispered quietly with a hand over her mouth.

Doctor Sarvez looked up from the floor to see what she was reacting two. There were several dead bodies lying on the ground. Some of them had lacerations over their bodies while others had limbs severed. Not only that, but one of the vents on the ceiling had been torn open.

"Doctor O'Connell… I need you to stop talking now. They may still be around here." he warned her with a quiet voice.

Jenny audibly swallowed and nodded shakily. Her hands were shaking with fear. She's never felt so vulnerable in her life. Before now, she often boasted how she was able to remain calm under pressure, but that was before her life was in danger. Unlike other obstacles she's experienced, this one involved alien organisms that wouldn't hesitate to kill her. And they weren't locked up in containment cells.

While she took this moment to take in her situation, Boris looked ahead and beyond the dead bodies. The room they were in was broken off in two parts. They were basically just standing on a metal balcony. Up ahead, there was a small lift that would take them down to the floor below, where it was currently flooded.

Slowly, the doctor walked over to the lift and looked down into the water. He knew that there was a door down there with a hallway that led to a similar room to this one. And then they would be at the elevator. The problem was the water.

From what Boris could tell, there was nothing living in the water, but there was no way to be fully sure. He could hear footsteps approaching him and he glanced over to see Jenny looking into the water too. She opened her mouth to say something, but quickly closed it once she recalled that he requested her not to speak anymore.

"Yes, we need to go down there." Boris whispered as quietly as he could and he quickly glanced at the vents to make sure nothing was there. "Directly across from us is a hallway. We need to go through it to get to the elevator." he informed her.

Doctor Sarvez could tell that she didn't like this plan at all, but they had to do this. Not wanting to be slowed down too much, he shuffled his arms and took off his lab coat before tossing it aside. Then he took off his shoes and socks. Lastly, he removed his black tie so he wouldn't accidentally choke himself.

Jenny wasn't as willing to remove any of her clothing however. The only thing she chose to take off was her high heeled shoes. Once those were off, she placed her laser pistol into her coat pocket and sat down by the edge of the lift. Hesitantly, she stuck her sock-covered foot into the water and shivered from the cold.

Her partner was much less unwilling compared to her. Boris crouched down with a hand resting on the floor before he hopped into the water. The impact of his body caused some water to splash on the head scientist, which made her gasp from the chill. She watched as he dove under the water and she could see him swimming down into the darkness below until she couldn't see him anymore.

With him gone and her sitting there in silence, Dr. O'Connell felt worried. The room was eerily silent and the dead bodies nearby sent shivers up her spine. She shook her head and forced herself forward. Her body sunk into the water and she kicked her feet to keep her head above the surface.

"H-holy fuck, it's c-c-cold!" she stuttered with chattering teeth.

Soon after her complaint, Dr. Sarvez's head broke through the water's surface and he took in a lungful of air. He panted for a few moments and looked over at her.

"The door's open, but… it's a long swim." Boris informed her between large intakes of air. "When you're ready, take a deep breath and follow me. Once we're in the hallway, it's a straight shot to the elevator." he explained to her.

"O-okay…" she nodded.

Doctor Sarvez watched her for a moment and just when she took in a huge lungful of air, he mimicked her actions before they both dived under the water's surface. The massive room looked much darker underwater. Whether it was the poor lighting or the water's murkiness didn't matter.

Kicking their feet behind them, the two scientists swam downwards towards the open door on the opposite side of the room. The two of them swam through the doorway and into a dark hallway. Nearly all of the lights were off here, save for one rapidly blinking bulb. It made swimming through the area very disorientating. They could barely make out where they were even going.

It didn't help that the water was freezing cold. Their muscles wanted to lock up from just how cold the water was, but they forced themselves to press on. Doctor Sarvez eventually felt a solid surface in front of him. The door to the next room was closed. A sudden blinking green light popped up and the metal surface began to slowly move upwards to allow them entry.

The metal didn't move for long however. The door must have been jammed somewhere, for it wouldn't go higher than one's knees if they were to stand. Looking over to his left, Boris could see the head scientist was frantically banging her hands against the door. His own chest felt really tight from the lack of air, and he could only guess that she was feeling the same. If not more so.

It was clear that she didn't see the crevice between the door and the floor. Even in such a dire situation, Doctor Sarvez put Jenny before himself. He reached over and tugged her by the sleeve. When her head whipped around to look at him, he pointed down towards the bottom of the partially open door.

Upon seeing the small open space, the head scientist dove further down and she maneuvered her skinny body through the barely open doorway. Dr. Sarvez was about to follow suit, but that blinking right suddenly turned red and the metal door began to slide downwards. Some bubbles escaped from between his lips and he slammed the palm of his hand against the door as it fully closed.

"WAR-WARNING! I AM EXPER-R-R-RIENCING TECHNICAL D-DIFFICULTIES! I APOLOGIZE FOR THE INCONVENience…" Brother's distorted and now watery voice spoke out before going silent.

Now fully alarmed, Boris turned around as fast as he could and began to swim back where he came from. His lungs were desperately begging for air. It was hard to see due to the damned blinking light, but the door on the other end closed shut too. By the time he reached the other door, it was fully closed and he began to feel his body growing tired.

'I can't die here! Jenny needs me!' he screamed in his head.

Doctor Sarvez barred his teeth while he weakly slammed his fist down on the metal of the door. It was too hard now. He couldn't hold his breath any longer. And even with the darkness around him, the corners of his vision became blurry, then darkened. He couldn't take it anymore. He spent too much energy swimming, the cold was freezing him alive, yet his chest was burning. In subconscious desperation, the doctor opened his mouth and breathed in the water.

Ice cold water flooded through Boris' esophagus and into his lungs. The doctor's eyes almost bulged out of their sockets as his body began to shut down due to the lack of oxygen in his blood. His chest hurt so much, it was unbearable. Within moments, his body went still and he floated up so his back pressed against the ceiling. The darkness filled his vision and the life left his eyes.


	18. Daughters Far

**Kwai kwai nidobak! I hope everyone is having a good time during the holidays. I apologize for the long wait, but life happens. Not much to say, other than that. Remember to leave a review or send me a PM!**

Chapter 18: Daughters Far

It has been said that the human body can survive being submerged in freezing cold water for roughly fifteen minutes. But usually, hypothermia and shock kicked in much before that. The average individual could only hold their breath for around thirty seconds, but sometimes a whole minute or two. Depending on how cold the water was, it was more likely a human would die via drowning than freezing to death in cold waters.

Darkness began to cloud the corners of Dr. O'Connell's vision. When Boris showed her the small opening at the bottom of the door in the flooded hallway, she moved as fast as she could through the opening and into the next room. Like the hallway, the room was flooded with freezing water, but the lights still worked. The water seemed to instantly turn to a much lighter shade of blue, but it was still murky.

Upon looking up, the doctor could faintly see the water's surface. That could only mean that there was air here. Now only seeing only through tunnel vision, she began to swim upwards as fast as her stiffened limbs would allow. Her cold body wanted to just stop moving altogether, but her burning lungs drove her on. Just when the black void nearly consumed her sight, her face broke through the water's surface.

Numerous gasps for air sounded through the large, partially flooded room. Doctor O'Connell inhaled deep to fill her lungs with the oxygen she so craved. But now that she had oxygen and blood flowing through her system, she needed to get out of the cold. With her red, matted hair covering one of her eyes, the scientist quickly looked around. This new area was fairly similar to the room where she first dove into the water. There was a metal balcony with a lift that would lead workers down onto the floor below. But there was also a ladder near where the lift would be. Perhaps, the lift was down in the water.

Acting on instinct and with the will to live, Jenny began to swim towards the ladder. Even with her head above the water, the freezing temperatures of the water made it hard to breathe. That and sometimes her hair would get in her mouth, but she was too focused on swimming to move it away. By the time her shaking hand gripped the first rung of the ladder, she actually forgot to breathe due to the cold. All her brain registered was that she needed to get on solid land.

'I don't want to die. I don't want to die.' she kept repeating in her head.

Jenny's sock covered feet managed to find the ladder and she began to climb out of the water. But the cold made her body so stiff and her grip wasn't nearly as strong as it would normally be. Her arms actually failed to support her body and she screamed as her body fell into the icy cold water.

With her head below the surface, Doctor O'Connell's vision was shrouded by the blue murkiness of the ocean water. But one of her hands was still gripped to the rung, so she was able to discern where up and down were. As silly as it might have sounded, she probably would have lost track of what was where and which direction to swim if she hadn't been holding onto the ladder.

Jenny tried with all her strength to pull her body back to the ladder and she gripped the rung with both hands once more. A groan escaped her throat while she forced herself up the ladder and onto the solid surface of the balcony. She crawled a little bit away from the water before she lied limp on the metal floor and panted. Her white teeth chattered and her body shivered violently. Her mind felt cloudy as the first stages of hypothermia began to kick in. A part of her wanted to strip off her heavy and soaking wet clothes, but she was afraid that having her bare skin exposed to the cold air would kill her just as fast as keeping her wet clothes on. But then she realized that something was wrong.

"D-d-d-d-doctor S-S-Sar-r-rvez…?" Jenny spoke, just above a whisper.

Slowly, Dr. O'Connell lifted up her head to look at the still water a little ways away from her. She could have sworn that Doctor Sarvez was right behind her. He should've been up on the balcony with her right now. Panic began to set in at this point. Jenny slowly got up onto her hands and knees and looked into the water, trying her best to find her coworker.

"B-Boris!" she managed to yell, but received no answer.

Save for the usual work tools and a few boxes, there was nothing in the water as far as she could see. No Boris and no bodies. She almost wanted to jump into the water to look for him, but she knew that she was in no condition to go back into that water to search for him.

Where could he have gone? Doctor O'Connell didn't recall them being attacked or anything. She let out a small sob as she grabbed hold of the guard rail and hoisted herself up onto her two socked feet. Her red hair was matted straight from the water weighing it down and her wet clothes clung to her body. All in all, she looked like a shivering wreck.

The head scientist stood there, leaning against the railing, for a long while. She waited and hoped that Boris would swim to the surface, but the longer she waited, the less likely that seemed to happen. After a whole minute passed, she hung her head and lightly hammered her fist down on the metal railing.

"Dammit… Fucking dammit…!" she half sobbed, half yelled.

Whether she liked it or not, she was alone with no one to help her. But she didn't forget the service Boris did for her. Jenny shakily reached into her coat pocket and she let out a shaky sigh of relief when she felt metal. A laser pistol was pulled out of her pocket and she held it up to the light so she could get a good look at it.

The weapon was just as she remembered it. The metal was a dark gray, almost black color and it had what looked like a rifle scope mounted to it. Most of the handgun was round and smooth. Some water dripped from the sizes of the gun and she hoped that it would still work despite this. It was an expensive weapon; surely it was built to survive in harsh conditions. After all, it was made to withstand the vacuums of space.

Jenny gripped the handle with both hands and with a pained look, turned away from the water. Her legs were still shaky and her body shivering, but she managed to walk forward towards the door on the opposite side of the balcony. Water constantly dripped from her clothes and hair, leaving behind a trail. A green light blinked on the exit's door before it slid open and the lights in the other room automatically turned on.

The head scientist entered what appeared to be a mix between a waiting room and a security checkpoint. It unnerved her that the room seemed to be completely devoid of life. The floor was covered by a brick red carpet and there were white benches lining against the wall to her left. In the center of the room, there were walk-through metal detectors, which the security stationed there used. There was also a metal door on both sides of her, but she didn't concern herself with them, for she knew they didn't lead her anywhere important. Directly ahead of her, past the metal detectors, there were two elevators. The call buttons were still it, which meant that they were perfectly operational. Finally, a chance to reach the hanger bay.

The door automatically closed shut behind the doctor as she moved away from it. In any normal scenario, Jenny would simply walk through the metal detectors, but her laser pistol was no doubt made of metal, considering its weight and the way it felt in her shaking hands. But there was plenty of space for her to move around the detectors instead, which was probably used by security. But as soon as she began to make her way around them, a loud, ear-piercing shriek rang out.

The shrieking was so loud that it actually popped one of Jenny's eardrums. The scientist winced and fell down to one knee as she held a hand over her popped ear. A ringing sounded off on one side of her head and she slowly looked around. Whatever made that sound definitely wasn't human. The shriek died down as quickly as it started and the room was silent once more.

When Dr. O'Connell managed to stand up again, she searched her memory for what specimen could have made that noise. It didn't sound like anything she recognized at the moment, but it was definitely one of them. But that just meant that one of them was nearby and probably pissed as all hell.

Jenny shivered and stumbled towards the elevators, making sure not to go anywhere near the metal detectors. But when she moved past them, she noticed a single television that was mounted to the wall. The screen itself only showed white and gray static, but there was no sound. She chose to ignore the television and she pressed her finger against the call button. A red light flashed from the panel however.

"A-A-ACCESS-S-S DENIED!" Brother's distorted voice boomed loudly, even more so than usual.

Jenny jumped in surprise from the loud noise and looked over her shoulder. She cursed under her breath, but she was gratefully that nothing seemed to have gotten into the room or was attracted by Brother's voice. When she judged that she was still safe, she turned back to the elevator.

"Brother. Call the elevator, now." Dr. O'Connell demanded, hoping that the damn A.I. would still recognize her voice.

There was no response and the light on the panel continued to blink red. The head scientist was about to press the call button for the second elevator, but the sound of white noise stopped her. It was faint, but it was coming from the television on the wall. She quickly turned to stare at the screen. The static was soon replaced by a video feed of a man's upper body. Static occasionally plagued the screen, but her eyes widened in recognition. The man had black hair, piercing green eyes, and he donned a blue jumpsuit. A wolfish grin was plastered on the man's face as he seemed to stare directly at her.

"Hello, Jenny. It's been too long." the man spoke with a unique hybrid between a Russian and Boston accent.

"A-Aaron…" was all the scientist managed to say.

"My, you've been busy lately, haven't you? Running the entire science wing of a whole colony, experimenting with an Alien species, performing genocide. If you hadn't wronged me all those years ago, I would've been proud of your accomplishments." he spoke with a faint cackle towards the end.

Doctor O'Connell was speechless. She simply stared at the screen with horror and dread. It wasn't clear to her how he was able to speak to her like this. Somehow, he must've hacked into Brother's systems, but she couldn't think of how he managed this.

"I have been reading over your emails and data logs." Aaron continued and he leaned forward so she could get a clearer view of his face. "I know everything, Jenny. About the Company, the Hadley's Hope incident, everything. The Company found an alien species in the now radioactive muck that is LV-426 and brought it here to study. It's honestly remarkable that you managed to find surviving specimens at all there." he stated and his grin seemed to widen just a little.

Jenny was already freezing cold, but what he said ran a chill up her back and back down again. No one here besides herself knew of this classified information. Not even Boris was aware of where the Xenomorphs came from. Yet here Aaron was, calmly narrating her company's most top secret projects. Was he mocking her, or genuinely impressed? He seemed to be delighted by her silence, which only served to further unnerve her.

"It's all quite impressive. If things turned out differently, I would have helped you in this endeavor. But you… you made things difficult. Remember my gene splicing experiments back in the day? 'Unethical. Barbaric. Cruel.' These are the things you called my experiments, I believe. Yet who are you to judge me? You use my own methods to breed these alien organisms. Taking in death row inmates and criminals for your own experiments. And you had me locked away for basically doing the same damn thing." Aaron's grin formed into a frown and his voice noticeably deepened. "My sacrifices were for the greater good, Jenny. Gene splicing and cloning can be used to help people. I wanted to use my work to grow organs for those who need them. And even clone those who have passed away. I was helping people, and you ruined everything." he almost growled with anger.

There was a long silence after that. The two individuals stared at one another through their screens. Dr. O'Connell's heart was rapidly beating in her chest while she stood there, shivering. It was like the darkest part of her past was coming back to haunt her. This man embodied everything she feared, and now he had Brother under his control.

Aaron Makov leaned back in the chair he was sitting in, which made it a little harder to see his face. The screen briefly turned to static before it went back to showing him. After a little while, he leaned forward again and smiled once more.

"I will not help perpetuate your survival, but I am not going to come after you, either. Once our conversation expires, I'll let you use the elevator. I'm sure you'll freeze to death before you get off the planet anyway. There's other files I've been reading; your emails. I see that you miss your husband, Mark. Oh, and you have a daughter now. Sam, I think you said her name was. They live in California, correct?" Aaron said with a devilish smirk.

"Stay away from my family!" Doctor O'Connell snapped with her hands clenched into fists.

"I went ahead and memorized their address. I'll be leaving this planet shortly to pay them a visit. Tell me, which one of them do you love more?" he questioned simply.

"I said stay away from them! Stay away from my family, you fuck!" Jenny screamed with tears in her eyes.

Without thinking, the head scientist raised her laser pistol and aimed it at the television. She squeezed the trigger with all her might with her teeth barred in fury. Visually, nothing seemed to come out of the weapon, but right in the middle of the scope's crosshairs she was looking through, smoke began to emit from the television screen. Within seconds, the screen darkened before the now hot glass shattered. The invisible beam of heat continued to burn the destroyed television before she finally let go of the trigger.

Jenny rested a hand against the wall and sobbed heavily. Fear enveloped her mind. She couldn't bear the thought of that horrible man near her loved ones. She jumped in surprise when the metal detectors next to her suddenly began to beep despite no one going through them. And soon after, the alarm system began to blare through the loudspeakers. But the worse sound came to her ears. That shriek from before.

It sounded like a demon straight from hell to Doctor O'Connell. Her shaking chest heaved as she breathed rapidly, water still dripping from her hair and clothes. Staying put was suicide. She turned towards the elevator's call panel to see that the light was now green. She quickly pressed her palm against the call button. Despite all the loud noises in the room, she could faintly hear the sound of the elevator moving.

The shrieking stopped, but the alarms continued to fill the room with sound. Ocean water and sweat slid down the scientist's brow while she waited for the elevator. Whatever made those terrifying noises was no doubt coming for her. She took in heavy gulps of air and glanced at the now destroyed television.

"You said you wouldn't kill me! You fucking liar!" she cried.

The sound of a sliding door quickly caught her attention. Jenny's blue eyes glanced at the two doors on the other end of the room, but much to her relief, they were still closed shut. When she turned back towards the elevator, she saw that the lift had arrived and the door was open.

"Thank you, Jesus. Thank you…" Dr. O'Connell murmured under her breath.

Then the sound she'd been dreading was heard. Another door slid open with a mechanical hum. Whatever made that shrieked was in the room with her. Jenny couldn't bring herself to turn around to look death in the eyes. Her legs were shaking from the cold and fear, but she forced herself into the elevator. She turned her body just enough to violently press her finger against the button at the tallest point of the available floors.

A hiss cut through the air even more sharply than the two alarms. The metal door began to close, but Jenny could see it in her peripheral vision. The thing that was investigating the noise was black, like all the other specimens. She couldn't, or didn't want to, see many details of the creature. However, she could tell that it was larger than most of the others and it had a wider than average head.

Before the elevator door could fully close, two clawed hands forced their way through the crevice of the doorway and forced the door back open. Jenny regrettably looked at the monster at that point. She let out a horrified scream as its eyeless gaze stared right at her. The silver, needle-like teeth gleamed in the light as drool dripped from its chin. Now she recognized this specimen. It was the only one in the hive, as far as she knew. A praetorian, she decided to name it when it was first molted.

"Don't! I need to save my family!" she begged the large creature.

If the praetorian could understand her, it didn't care. Its teeth began to separate to reveal the second set of jaws within its maw. With a scream of horror, Dr. O'Connell raised her laser pistol and squeezed the trigger. The massive monster let out a pained screech as smoke began to emit from its left shoulder. The black exoskeleton split where the heated beam was burning it and acidic blood began to leak out of the wound.

The horrific beast let out a loud roar before it slashed its six fingered hand at Jenny, who cried out in pain and fell over. Six bleeding gashes were left on her face and down her neck. One of the heavily bleeding scratches ran right over one of her eyes and she was clenching both her hands over it, the pistol completely forgotten.

A deep hiss echoed in the elevator while the praetorian stepped inside. Its eyeless face looked down at the woman. Jenny's one good eye looked up at the creature as she shivered. As soon as her other hand began to reach out for the laser pistol, the praetorian roared and its tail rose up like a scorpion's stinger.

Doctor O'Connell didn't want to die. She needed to save her family. With what little strength she had, she picked up the laser pistol and aimed it up at her attacker. Just as she squeezed the trigger, the monster's tailblade shot downwards. The blade pierced straight through her mostly unprotected neck. Blood leaked into her esophagus. The sounds of choking and gurgling escaped her mouth while red blood spurted from her jugular.

But her finger was firmly pressing down on the trigger. The invisible beam briefly made contact with the praetorian's chest again. It roared in pain as another wound was burned in its chest. Before any more damage could be done, its tailblade pulled out of her neck and sunk itself into Jenny's wrist, pinning her arm to the ground. The laser continued to shoot out, but it was hitting the wall on the side, which singed the metal black. As Jenny choked to death from her own blood, the large Xenomorph leaned its crowned head back and shrieked. All the while, the elevator began to move up the tower.

* * *

It was a pleasant scene to watch. Aaron Makov was seated in an office chair, staring at one of the many monitors in front of him. He watched through the security camera as one of the many loose specimens murdered the woman who locked him away, like an animal. A sick smile formed on his face as he logged out of the system and he leaned back in his seat.

"Data corruptions, detected! A computer technician has been notified!" Brother's voice spoke up, now completely clear and free of distortions.

No one would come; he was sure of this. The tower was empty, save for himself and the straggling Xenomorphs. Aaron's been studying their general patrol patterns for the last few hours. They were prone to stray from their ruts, but he was confident that he could avoid them. Animals weren't too hard to predict, so he thought.

Makov stood up from his chair and picked up the revolver he had resting on the armrest. He let out a pleased sigh and turned around to look at the dead bodies of the security officers stationed to protect their precious artificial intelligence. All of them had bullet wounds and one of them had a caved in face from some kind of blunt trauma.

Aaron cared not for their lives, or the colony. The Company didn't matter either. Everything he needed was in the palm of his hand. Upon thinking of it, he looked down at his freehand to see a flash drive in his palm. It stored many of Dr. O'Connell's notes regarding his work. Gene splicing was far more important to him than anything. After all, she's proven many of his theories correct. That inmate he met back in prison. What was his name? Linwood Stevenson, he thought it was. His genes and DNA were altered in a way that gave him special abilities that were linked with the specimens that were kept here. He thought that perhaps he could give that man a helping hand, for now he was part of his work. There was so much he had to do, and so very little time.

"Brother, call the tram back to Tower D." the Russian-American ordered politely.

"The tram will arrive in three minutes." Brother emotionlessly announced.

"Thank you." he said simply.

With that, Aaron began to walk to the exit of the room that smelled of death and blood. The door beeped and opened with a small hum, allowing him to leave. He still smiled as he quietly walked out of the room and towards the tram station.


	19. Artificial Assistance

**Kwai kwai nidobak! I would just like to thank those of you who've been so supportive of me and this story. All the positivity means a lot to me and I'm happy that my silly story is entertaining you all. Truly, it does. Thank you. Remember to leave a review or send me a PM!**

Chapter 19: Artificial Assistance

The life of a marine was always a hard one to live by. The vigorous training and screaming drill sergeants was only the start of it. In the Colonial Marine Corps, and perhaps marines on Earth as well, it was drilled into every soldier's head that they were going to be killing machines. Their purpose was to kill the enemy for their country. Some even called it brainwashing. It was said that it was only to prepare the marines for combat, but the training was brutal all the same.

At least on Earth, you had a definite country to fight for. The Colonial Marines didn't have the same luxury. While they were partially funded by the United States, the marines were meant to travel throughout the known universe to deal with various issues. These could involve space pirates, terrorists, or even revolting colonies. But many of these marines came from all sorts of different countries and even planets. And unlike other types of soldiers, the Colonial Marines didn't fight for their home country or world. Sometimes, it was hard for a marine to understand who they even swore their allegiances to. All they knew was that they were promoted as killing machines and that no one else could possibly stand against the might of the Colonial Marine Corps.

Such a life was too much for Lieutenant Johanson. It frustrated him to no end that all he could ever seem to think about was his time as a marine. Even in the life or death situation he found himself in, he couldn't stop thinking about that hollow living he used to lead. He audibly scoffed at his pathetic excuse for a life. His whole life, he felt like he had no true home. Being born in Germany, one would expect him to join the German defense force, like his father, but no. At a young age, he grew up on some space station orbiting Saturn, only to join the Colonial Marines. Even being of German decent, he's long lost his accent and even his knowledge of the language due to working with Americans and English speakers through his teenage years and most of his adult life.

After he left the marines, he finally found a place he could call his home. Aipaloovik VII. It certainly wasn't perfect, but for once in his life, he felt that he had a stable living. But the price was almost too much of a burden.

The thought of Shanza's screaming face came to mind. His coworker and friend being dragged off into the darkness. How Lt. Johanson wished he could have saved Sergeant Shanza. And Corporal Cobalt was destined to die giving birth to one of those monsters. A groan escaped the lieutenant as he turned his head to look at the woman slumped on the white seats across from him. That parasite was still clinging to her face, as if mocking him. He could only pray that the Company could remove the thing in her chest before it was too late.

Adam winced in pain when the tram car jolted. He looked down at his left shoulder to see the arm hanging a little lower than his right. There was no doubt that the arm was separated from the socket. The longer his arm stayed like this, the more serious the injury would get. And it hurt like nothing else.

"Now arriving at Tower C! Please enjoy your stay!" Brother's voice spoke loudly through the tram's loudspeakers.

The lieutenant let out a small sigh. This arm needed to be treated soon, but he wanted to make sure they were both safe first. With the pain ever evident in his limp arm, the former marine stood up and made his way over to his surviving partner. He groaned quietly of pain when he grabbed her by the waist and lifted her over his shoulder. It was difficult carrying her with just one arm. They were also completely defenseless when he carried her. Hopefully, the security detail and scientists were safely waiting for them.

The tramcar jolted to a stop and the exit slid open. A look of pain and disappointment crossed Lieutenant Johanson's face as he stepped out into the open. The tram station was deathly silent and smelled of copper. Dead bodies littered the floor, many of which he recognized. A large portion of the scientists and officers were ripped apart. Pools of blood and bits of gore dotted the floor. It was the kind of death he hasn't seen since he was a grunt in the marines. But all of this meant one thing; the test subjects found a way into the tower.

"Christ…" the security officer mumbled under his shaky breath.

Lieutenant Johanson had to think for a moment. One of the Company's ships was bound to arrive at the colony at any moment now, but two and possibly more of the towers were compromised. He knew that this didn't bode well for anyone left alive. There was no doubt that the Company wouldn't risk sending their commandos too deep into the colony if they knew that the test subjects were running around unchecked. The best chance anyone had now was to reach the hanger bay at the top of the tower.

Tending to the dislocated arm would have to wait. They needed to head up, now. Adam gritted his teeth and began his trek across the station. The bulkhead door that led to the rest of the tower was partially shut, but all he had to do was duck down to get past it. Bodies lay limp on the floor. The number of corpses wasn't as great as in the tram station, but there was still one too many for the former marine's liking.

The main hall led to a t-intersection. One hall leading left, another to the right, and a few escalators were straight ahead. Lieutenant Johanson stepped onto one of the escalators, which were no longer functioning. He had to climb the steps himself. His arm swayed uselessly by his side as he climbed. Every movement shot waves of pain throughout his whole body. It hurt so much. Sweat slid down his face and he bit his lower lip to stop himself from screaming or crying out. When he was about halfway up, he felt a small bit of blood around her lower lip where he was biting.

When Adam made it to the top of the escalator, a small tremor briefly shook the whole building. It was enough to make him lose balance and he fell face first onto the hard, metal floor. He dropped Corporal Cobalt in the process and they both crashed when they collapsed on the ground. This time, he couldn't hold it back. Lieutenant Johanson let out a scream and he slammed his fist down in anger and pain. He began to see stars again as he went into a small tantrum.

Adam was trained to be a killing machine, to be a badass. Yet here he was now, on the floor and screaming from an arm injury. His drill sergeant would be furious with him if he were there. The adrenaline from before had worn off. Where there was a seemingly unstoppable soldier was replaced with a crippled man. A man who just wanted to stop and rest. But he was afraid that if he closed his eyes, he would never open them again.

Gritting his teeth, the former marine stopped screaming and he gradually lifted himself to one knee. His trembling hand unholstered his sidearm, a Heckler VP70 pistol. As soon as he did, he could hear a faint beeping coming from the motion tracker that was strapped to the wrist on his limp arm. He couldn't tell where the movement was coming from, but his eyes scanned the area around him.

"Lieutenant? Is that you?" came a familiar voice.

Seemingly out of the dark, a black silhouette jumped down from the ceiling in front of him. One of the creatures! Adam quickly raised his pistol and aimed at the monster's long head, but it raised its arms in the air, as if in a form of surrender. He didn't squeeze the trigger. Instead, he cautiously eyed the creature while he aimed down his iron sights.

"Charles?" he asked the creature.

"Yes, it's good to see you again." spoke the dark figure.

The creature, now revealed to be the synthetic, slowly lowered its arms and its eyeless face stared at the former marine with its silver teeth gleaming under the fluorescent light. Water was dripping from Charles' exoskeleton, which gave the human a clue as to how the machine made it to Tower C.

"I'm glad to see a friendly face… I guess, but weren't you supposed to find that one prisoner the doctors wouldn't shut up about?" Adam asked and he finally lowered his handgun.

"Yes. I found Mr. Stevenson, but we were separated. I know for a fact he's here in Tower C however." the synthetic explained.

It was at that moment that Charles noticed the corporal on the floor. She was lying on her back. The former marine followed the synthetic's gaze. Apparently, from the time he fell over and spoke to Charles, the spider-like creature had removed itself from her face. It was curled up with its legs bent inward, just like a dead insect. It was quite clear that the parasite was no longer living, but that just meant that the egg had successfully been planted into the corporal's chest.

"She doesn't have much time." Charles spoke somberly with his long head bowed.

"How long would you say?" the former marine questioned.

"Five to thirty minutes, if we are lucky. The birthing process can vary dramatically." the synthetic answered. "As much as I despise killing…"

"No." Lieutenant Johanson sharply interrupted and he glared at the synthetic. "The Company must have some way to get that thing out of her chest. They have to." he stated and he slowly stood up on his two feet.

While it was true that Wayland-Yutani had access to some remarkable technology and some of the greatest geniuses in their lifetime, Charles had his doubts that the corporal could be saved. If it wasn't for his programming that forbade him from harming humans, he would kill her himself to relieve her of the agony she would no doubt experience soon. He wanted to convince the lieutenant that killing her while she was unconscious would be the best thing to do, but he's heard how stubborn the lieutenant was. In fact, his stubbornness was legendary among the staff.

Adam took a deep breath and looked around the silent hall ahead of them. Going by normal means would take maybe twenty minutes to reach the hanger bay. That was time they simply didn't have. He didn't like the idea he was about to propose, but in his mind, it was their only chance.

"Charles, I want you to take Corporal Cobalt to the top of the tower. Do everything you can to get her to safety. And get there as fast as you can. I'll search for that prisoner." he instructed.

"Lieutenant, that doesn't sound like a good idea." Charles commented.

"I know, but she needs to live. Look, I'm damn right close to begging here. Take her to the Company. I'll be better off by myself anyway." the former marine said shakily and his blue eyes stared directly at the synthetic's face.

Charles didn't want to do this, but the man was clearly desperate. And the longer he waited to process the possible outcomes of this demand, the more time the Xenomorph in the corporal's chest had to develop.

"Alright. I can get there in ten minutes if we aren't interrupted." Charles informed him.

"Thank you." Adam said gratefully. "So, where is this guy you're looking for?" he asked.

"Last I saw him; he entered the tower through one of the airlocks, proximately five floors above us." the synthetic replied and he pointed a bony finger upwards.

A sigh of relief escaped the lieutenant's lips. The synthetic approached them and he squatted down. His six fingered hands slid under Corporal Cobalt's body and he easily lifted her up as he stood up again. He easily held her, bridal style. His long head looked over at the officer, who gave a small nod. Charles looked up at that moment and suddenly leapt up into an open air vent on the ceiling.

It was mostly dark, so to Lieutenant Johanson, it looked like the two of them disappeared in thin air. But he could hear them in the air ducts. The soft banging faded away over time and when he couldn't hear it anymore, the ex-soldier holstered his gun. Now that he had some time, he needed to take care of his arm.

It was a painful process, but with some effort, he removed his bulletproof vest and his gray shirt. With those off, he bit the shirt's collar and tore the shirt into wide strips. He took one of the longer pieces of torn fabric and tied both ends together. It was immensely difficult with only one hand, but with the help of his clenched teeth, he managed it and he slung the makeshift sling over his shoulder. He got down on his knees for this next part and he slowly shook his head.

"This is gonna suck…" Adam mumbled under his breath.

The former marine grabbed one of the discarded pieces of cloth and placed it into his mouth to bite down on. His lower lip stopped bleeding at this point and he didn't want to reopen the wound. He very gently grabbed his limp arm's wrist and counted to three before he began to lift it up and into the sling. Deep groans echoed through the dead hallway as his arm was fitted into the makeshift sling. The pain was nearly overwhelming, but the arm was soon resting on the fabric.

Lieutenant Johanson mentally cursed and spat out the fabric. The sling was very crude and his shoulder pulsed with pain as it swelled, but this was the best he could do for now. He was no doctor and it was very unlikely that he'd find one any time soon.

'Okay. Let's find this guy.' Adam spoke in his head and he slowly stood up on his two legs once more.

With the lieutenant's arm positioned the way it was, there was no use for the bulletproof vest he was issued. Besides, he didn't think he'd be getting into any gunfights. He left it on the floor as he began to walk down the hall. While he walked, he took out his handgun and kept it raised so it was pointing at the ceiling. There was a lot of ground to cover if he was gonna search for this runaway convict.

* * *

Machines were much different than humans. They couldn't feel the burden of temperatures like organics. This made them capable of operating in extreme heat and cold where humans would be uncomfortable.

Like all synthetics, Michael had no issue with being drenched in freezing cold sea water. His jumpsuit was damp and the colors darkened from being soaked, but he didn't shiver or feel any discomfort. But he knew that Angela couldn't survive long like this. That's why they've spent the last few minutes hiding in a kitchen.

Normally, security officers and engineers who worked in Tower C ate their lunches within the tower, unlike the two of them, who ate their meals in Tower B. Like most areas, the cafeteria was abandoned. Thankfully, it wasn't flooded like the halls they just trudged through. The lights were still functional too.

Michael lead Angela into the kitchen for a simple reason, the various ovens and stoves produced heat. As soon as they entered the vacant kitchen, the synthetic turned on all of the cooking appliances to heat up the room. It was primitive, he knew, but it would at least help his human friend warm up.

The woman in question was shivering by one of the stoves that had its heat turned all the way up. Michael found some cooking smocks and even some small towels, which she had draped around her as makeshift blankets. While she warmed up by the oven, the engineer stood by the entrance with his flamethrower. He wasn't going to allow anything to get past him. Allowing one of those beasts to harm her was the last thing he'd let happen.

Angela's red eyes turned to look at Michael, who stared out at the cafeteria in front of him, opposite of her. Her heart felt heavy from the loss of Doctor Bounland. He was always a good neighbor and doctor to her. That man seemed so determined to rescue them, to get them off the planet. But he died trying to do so. And now here Michael was, protecting her from harm and vowing to protect her. It was clear that he meant well and that he wanted to comfort her, but his words also scared her. What if Michael ended up getting killed trying to save her? He was her only true friend. He may only be a machine, but he made her happy. They needed to leave the colony, but she didn't want to lose him in the process.

The longer they waited, the more time Angela had to reflect these thoughts. And those dragons could be anywhere. She refused to let her friend die because she was too cold to go anywhere. Besides, thanks to the heat emitting from the ovens, she was mostly dry anyway. So, she slowly stood up, but she held the smocks close to her body anyway. When she stood up, the synthetic turned around to look at her. She almost winced when she saw those burns on his chin. He got those because of her, she felt. She didn't want him to get any more injuries on her behalf.

"Are you alright, Angela?" he asked with concern that sounded just as genuine as if it came from another human.

"Yeah…" the horticulturalist nodded, which made her white bangs briefly cover her eyes. "I'm okay now. Can we keep going, please?" she eagerly requested.

"Very well. Stay close behind me." Michael replied.

He was doing it again; he was being so protective of her. Angela wished he wouldn't do that. She prayed that no more harm would come to him. Despite her feelings, she walked up behind the synthetic and the two of them walked through the open doorway.

All the tables within the cafeteria were empty. They were alone there and only their footfalls broke the eerie silence. Michael lit the little blue flame at the end of the makeshift flamethrower while they walked. No doubt he wanted to be prepared at all times. The two of them walked through the cafeteria, but something seemed off and Michael would've missed it if he wasn't paying attention.

The synthetic stopped in his tracks. Angela gasped quietly when she bumped into his back, but he didn't react to it. Mere inches in front of them, there seemed to be a barely visible strand of… something, which connected the ceiling to the floor. This mysterious strand could only be seen when the light hit it just right. Michael looked down at the floor and he could see a small pool of some kind of liquid where the strand ended. Then, his blue eyes traveled upwards to see an open vent that led into darkness. But that was where the mysterious liquid was coming from.

Angela was confused as to why he had stopped. She couldn't see what he saw. The light from her perspective didn't reveal the liquid. But she watched the synthetic slowly raise his flamethrower to the open vent. She jumped in surprise when a sudden burst of yellow and orange flames shot out of the weapon and into the vent. A noisy shriek was heard within the vent and she swore she could see something moving in there. Something big violently thrashed in the air ducts and she could hear it speedily moving away from the opening.

'A dragon! How long was it waiting in there!? Did it know about us the whole time!?' Angela screamed in her head, her mind flooding with questions in seconds.

As soon as Michael released the trigger and the flames died down, the din of bending metal was heard to their left. One of the closed openings to the vents rapidly bent outward as a pair of pitch black hands stuck out into the open. A second dragon hissed and crawled out into the brightly lit room.

The two of them could clearly see its dark body and the long, ridged skull it had. The creature stood up on its two feet and its silver teeth were clearly visible. Heavy thumps of the dragon's feet rang out from every step it made towards them. When the synthetic aimed his flamethrower directly at it, the creature seemed to feel a sense of urgency, for it began to sprint towards them.

More blazing hot flames burst out from the weapon, but the dragon ran straight through the flames and tackled Michael to the ground. Angela screamed his name in fear as they crashed the ground. Being directly behind him, she was knocked to the ground as well, but much to the synthetic's relief, she fell back about a meter away from him and the creature seemed to focus entirely on him.

Michael stared up at the dragon with a defiant look, completely lacking fear. Even as the monster screamed in his face, he glared at the dark monstrosity. He tried to push the thing off of him, but its immense strength kept him down. Within seconds, its mouth opened wide and its tongue shot forward like a speeding bullet.

Angela got up on all fours and looked up with horror. A loud, wet crunch came forth once the dragon's tongue pierced her friend's skull. White blood spurted out of the newly formed hole where his right eye once was. The hole exposed some now bloody wires. A pain sharper than the sharpest knife welled up in her chest and she gasped with tears in her eyes. But before she could even mourn for Michael, the creature's eyeless gaze looked towards her.

Now with specks of white blood dotting its face, the dragon stood up once more and began to walk towards her. But miraculously, Michael turned over onto his stomach and grabbed his attacker's ankle, which quickly looked down at him with a hiss. Even with an eye and a large chunk of his head's wiring missing, the synthetic was able to operate with little difficulty. With great strength, he pulled the creature's foot towards himself and it fell down onto the floor. However, it was able to catch itself on its other foot and two hands with little effort.

"Stay back, Angela!" he yelled to the heavily breathing woman.

Angela was trembling again, but not from the cold. She was trembling with fear. Doing as he said however, she stepped backwards until her back bumped into one of the many tables within the cafeteria.

The dragon did not simply stay still. It violently shook its foot to try to get the synthetic to let go, but his grip was strong. Its now familiar hissing seemed to burn into the human's ears while she watched. The long bladed tail of the dragon rose up and shot down again to stab into Michael's shoulder, but he reacted with nothing more than a small jolt. With that same look of distain, he aimed his flamethrower right at the creature's face with a single arm and squeezed the trigger.

Orange and yellow flames shot right into the dragon's open mouth. The screaming flames were almost as loud as the howling the monster emitted as the flames burned away at its inner mouth. It didn't take long for its head to catch on fire. Its limbs vigorously flailed around and its razor sharp claws constantly left bleeding gashes over Michael's face and chest, but he refused to let go of the trigger.

While the dragon was burned alive, the first one in the vent above made its way back to the bent opening. The eyeless face of the creature peaked out of the darkness before its whole body crawled out and into the open. Unlike the first dragon, this one didn't drop down onto the floor. Its four limbs clung to the ceiling like a creeping spider stalking its prey.

"Michael!" Angela creamed with fear when she noticed the creature making its way towards her.

The synthetic's head quickly turned to look up at the ceiling. He easily spotted the being on the ceiling with his one good eye. He finally stopped firing the weapon and pushed the now dead monster off of him. He yanked the tailblade out of his shoulder, causing more white blood to leak out. The dragon didn't pay any attention to him as he stood up. Instead, it continued to crawl its way towards Angela while it drooled profusely. She was too scared to run, for fear of it giving chase.

"Get down!" Michael spoke loudly.

Taking his advice, the albino woman quickly got down onto her stomach and she covered the back of her head with her hands. The dragon just looked at her and reared back, ready to pounce. But before it did, Michael squeezed the trigger once more and the now familiar hot flames shot forth. Much to his dismay however, only a small burst of flames burst out of the weapon before the fuel within the tank emptied.

The burst of fire struck the creature however and it screeched as it fell to the ground. Almost like a feline, it spun around in midair and landed on its hands and feet. The synthetic quickly detached the now empty can from the weapon, but before he could reach for a new one, the howling monster sprinted towards him.

Once directly in front of him, the beast quickly stood up on its two feet and one of its six digit hands grabbed his right wrist. Its other hand gripped the side of his bleeding head and tilted it at an odd angle. Michael tried to back away from the beast, but it only stepped forward with each movement he made. Then its mouth opened to reveal the second set of jaws attached to its bizarre tongue. That jawed tongue sprung forth and punctured into his forearm, then again.

White blood splattered all over the two of them as that tongue repeatedly took chunks out of his arm. But then the creature released its hold on the synthetic, and he fell to the floor. He couldn't help but wonder why it released him, but upon looking, he saw that his arm was completely severed and a pool of blood spread from under his stump. His arm still held the flamethrower in a vice like grip, but the towering creature violently threw the appendage across the room.

The dragon raised its face skyward and let out a horrible screech. Angela watched everything that transpired with tearful eyes. But when that thing's face turned to look at her, she screamed and quickly crawled under one of the cafeteria tables.

Michael could see the black monstrosity approaching his friend. His protective instincts yelled at him to get up and fight the creature, but rationality dictated that he wouldn't stand a chance against that thing with only one arm. Quickly, he turned to look at his now discarded appendage. With the dragon ignoring him, he stood up and stumbled towards the arm. He planted his bloodied boot onto his severed limb and peeled the cold fingers off of the weapon's handle. Then, he set his duffel bag down and took out a fresh can that was filled with propane.

But as he did all of this, the dragon made its way over to Angela. It merely walked, but the space between its steps covered a big distance. It didn't take long at all for it to reach the table she hid under. The woman was sobbing under the table as she laid there in a fetal position. So many thoughts rushed through her head. From Michael being so badly hurt because of her to this horrible beast above her.

With lightning reflexes, the beast grabbed her by the leg and dragged her screaming and kicking body out and into the open. When it released her leg, it planted its hand over her upper chest and around her collarbone to keep her down. It slowly crawled around her while its eyeless face seemed to stare into her soul. Without eyes to focus on, all she could bring herself to look at was those teeth and the white specks of blood that ran down its face.

The small can of propane clicked into place. It was awkward reloading the weapon with one arm, but Michael managed to keep it steady between his legs. Once it was loaded with the proper fuel and ready to go, he held the makeshift weapon up with his left hand and spun around to burn his attacker. But it was gone. His one good eye darted around in an attempt to locate it, but it was nowhere in sight. All he could see was the burned remains of the first one he killed.

"Angela!?" he called out with what sounded like worry.

The synthetic's heavy boots thumped against the tiled floor with every step forward he took. The room was deathly silent and the dragon was clearly gone. When he stepped around one of the tables, he saw Angela lying on the floor, limp. She wasn't resting. She wasn't sleeping. Angela was dead. There was a bleeding hole right between her wide open eyes. All the life was drained from those red orbs of hers.

The flamethrower clanged on the floor when Michael dropped it. He rushed over to his friend and kneeled down by her limp side. As he stared at the puncture hole in her skull, his remaining hand slowly reached up towards his own wound on his face. He swore he'd protect her, yet here she was. Feelings he didn't know a machine could have washed over him; feelings he didn't fully understand. Was it pain? It felt like it was coming from his chest.

"No…" he murmured.

His remaining hand gently slid under her head while he stared at her corpse. But then his white blood began to drip onto her pale face. The remaining eye he had widened and he quickly backed away from her. She was a beautiful woman who didn't deserve to die. He failed her and now his impure blood was desecrating her remains.

The synthetic shook his head with disgust and stood up. He couldn't help but feel responsible for this. He should have calculated that these dragons would find them. Maybe they smelled them or something. They were animals, after all. But there was nothing he could do now and he had no purpose. Those things didn't even have the courtesy of killing him too. His only true friend was gone, the Company gave him no orders, and he was alone. All he could do was turn away from her body. He didn't even bother to retrieve his flamethrower. With thoughts of regret and anguish flooding his CPU, he began to walk.

"I'm sorry." Michael spoke before leaving.


	20. Upsurging

**Kwai kwai everybody! I hope that everyone had a pleasant holiday season. I, for one, am rather pleased. We are finally nearing the end of this story. It's a lot of fun to write, but all things must come to an end. I only plan on having two more chapters after this one, so that's something to look forward to. I hope you all enjoy the chapter and remember to leave a review or send me a PM!**

Chapter 20: Upsurging

On most days, Tower C was bustling with activity. Maybe not as much as Towers B and D, but it was generally filled with busy workers. Being the center of the colony, Tower C was generally seen as the heart of the colony on Aipaloovik VII.

Aipaloovik; Linwood kept thinking of that name in his head as he wandered down an empty hallway. What did that name even mean? It didn't sound familiar to him, but a planet with liquid water wouldn't be named something as drab as a series of letters and numbers. Did the planet's name truly have a purpose behind it? Or was it named after someone who discovered it? Perhaps he'd never know.

A small sigh escaped the convict's lips as he looked around the area he found himself in. All of these damn hallways looked the same to him. Grated floors, gray walls, and numerous doors that usually didn't open. The only thing that stood out was the glass wall to his left, which allowed him to look out at the nearly pitch black ocean. But the little amount of light that pierced the ocean made some unique patterns in the empty hall. Slithering streams of blue light seemed to dance all around him. Even in the danger he found himself in, he had to admit that the patterns were beautiful.

The boots Linwood wore thumped with every step he took, which seemed to echo. His head felt fine, which he knew meant that there were none of those "Xenomorphs" anywhere nearby. Yet it unnerved him how quiet this place was. Ever since he attacked that kid back at the airlock, he hasn't seen a soul. The only conclusion his mind came to was that these nonhuman organisms were running amok here too. He was simply fortunate enough not to stumble upon any. At least, not yet.

"Where am I even going?" he thought aloud with a look of agitation.

Linwood stopped in his tracks for just a moment. He let out another sigh as he leaned his back against the metal wall opposite of the window and he slid down to a seated position. His electric gun rested on his lap while he scratched the back of his bald head. In prison, he spent most of his days confined in his cell. He wasn't used to walking around nonstop for so long. He wasn't even sure how long it's been since all this madness started happening. What was the rotational period of this planet anyway?

The only thing the convict wanted to do was to rest, perhaps get some sleep. If he could find a place with maybe a bed or sofa, he could barricade the room so he could safely rest. That sounded like a good idea, but at the same time, getting off the planet as soon as possible would probably be a smarter idea. There was no telling when the Company would send their goons to this place to find him. No, he had to keep going no matter how much his aching muscles screamed at him to stop.

Linwood groaned softly as he forced himself to stand up again. With some deep breaths, the lone man turned and continued to wander aimlessly down the hall. His sore feet practically dragged against the metal floor while he walked. The gun he was holding pointed down at the floor as he loosely held it. It wasn't clear to him what was worse, constantly walking or holding this heavy weapon.

After what seemed like an eternity of walking, the bald man found himself staring at a metal door, which marked the end of this section of hallways. He already knew what was going to be on the other side, more hallways. To the right of the door, there was a small panel with a button that'd allow him entry. But before he could reach for it, there was a soft, barely audible beep. It was enough to get him to jump with surprise and the door began to hum as it slid into the hollow doorframe.

The door opened to reveal a humanoid figure. Linwood stood as still as a pole while he stared at the grotesque figure. It certainly wasn't human, but neither was it one of those things. The figure was donned in a blue jumpsuit that was stained with white blood. Its right arm and eye were missing entirely and white blood continued to drip through the wounds.

The synthetic's one good eye stared straight ahead in an eerie thousand mile stare. It didn't even acknowledge the human's existence and it seemed to look right through him. Neither of them spoke a word. Linwood pressed his electric gun against his own chest and silently stepped aside with his back against the window. He watched as the critically damaged synthetic walked past him and down the hall he came from. It left behind a small trail of white blood as it moved and it never looked back.

'Creepy.' the convict thought to himself.

Linwood forced himself to look away from the synthetic. He had more things to worry about than a malfunctioning machine. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and walked through the still open doorway.

Much to the convict's relief, the new area wasn't just another hallway. It was a diamond shaped room with large windows that allowed anyone inside to look out at the ocean. To the right of him, there was an elevator with a glowing green call button next to it. The bald man found himself smiling as he approached the elevator. It was nice to see something different for once. He pressed his palm against the call button and patiently waited.

The seconds seemed to tic by and the bald man could soon hear the faint sound of the rising lift. There was a small ding and the door slid open. His brown eyes widened as he stared down the end of a handgun pointing right at him.

"Well, just the bastard I've been looking for." the owner of the gun spoke.

Linwood's eyes shifted to look at who was aiming a gun at his head. He remembered this person from when he first arrived on the planet. This guy was one of the officers that led the convicts to Tower D. The last thing he wanted was to run into one of these people. He had the urge to run away or shoot this man, but logic dictated that this officer had the upper hand, even with what looked like a broken arm.

"Put down your weapon. Now." Lieutenant Johanson ordered sternly with a cold glare.

"Are you insane?" Linwood snapped, but he quickly calmed down when the barrel of the gun was pressed against his forehead. "Look, this gun can repel those Xenomorph things. And I don't think you can carry this thing with one arm." he spoke slowly as his heart thumped rapidly in his chest.

Lieutenant Johanson glared at the criminal in front of him, but that didn't make him wrong. Of course, the former marine recognized the electric gun. He was allowed by the scientists to test fire it and he recalled just how heavy that thing was. He briefly barred his teeth and took a step back, still aiming his handgun at the other man's head.

"Fine. Just keep that thing pointed at the floor and get in the fucking elevator." the ex-marine demanded.

Linwood didn't dare utter a word as he stepped into the elevator and the door closed soon after he was inside. He was ordered to turn around and he slowly turned so his back was to the officer. The barrel of the pistol pressed against the back of his bald head and he let out a shaky breath, showing just how nervous he was.

"Press the highest button." the lieutenant instructed without taking his eyes off the man in front of him.

With slow movements, the convict outstretched his offhand and he pressed his thumb against the instructed button, which he assumed would take them to the top floor on this tower. That was both comforting and worrying. On one hand, it meant that they both were aiming to leave this place. And he was aiming to find a way off world anyway. The thing that bothered him was what might be waiting for him at the top floor. For all he knew, the rest of the security force and the Company's lackeys were waiting to detain him. There was no way in hell he'd let them use him as a lab rat again.

The elevator softly hummed as they gradually moved upwards. There was a screen above the door that had glowing red numbers showing which floors they were passing. The numbers were counting down, so Linwood concluded that the floors were named depending on the depth below sea level. He assumed that the first floor was the highest point of Tower C. He watched as the numbers counted down in the double digits. He assumed that they had some waiting to do before they reached their destination.

"Why are you bothering with me anyway? Isn't an officer of the law supposed to protect people?" Linwood asked while he looked straight ahead.

The lieutenant refused to answer and stayed quiet. The convict let out a small sigh from the silence and he shook his head lightly. If he were given the chance, he'd hurt this man; maybe even kill him. He just wanted to get away.

"You don't talk much, do you?" Linwood continued as his brown eyes wandered around without ever turning his head.

Once again, silence was his only response. Adam watched the bald man's every move and stayed alert despite the pain he was in. All that mattered to him was getting back to Corporal Cobalt. This lowlife mattered very little to him.

There was a loud crash from outside the elevator all of a sudden. The two men grunted as the elevator shifted briefly, but it continued to rise. Something was wrong. Linwood felt that familiar pounding in his head and he let out a pained groan. There was another crash soon after and the elevator's progress upwards halted for just a moment, but it quickly continued rising. Something fell on the elevator. Both of them looked upwards at the ceiling and they flinched when a sharp, serrated, scythe-like blade pierced through the metal. The black blade shot right between the two men before a second blade crashed through the ceiling right next to the first one.

The metal seemed to screech as it was ripped apart by the two blades. Almost like tin foil, the metal bent and parted to reveal the face of one of the creatures. Its eyeless black face looked down into the elevator and it hissed as it pulled its bladed arms out of the room.

"Shoot it!" Lieutenant Johanson shouted and he aimed his pistol at the monster before he squeezed the trigger.

While his aim was true, the small caliber rounds simply ricocheted off the creature's hard skull. Linwood recognized this type of creature. It was the same sub-species that attacked the strange synthetic that was escorting him through the ocean almost an hour or two ago. He barred his teeth and aimed upwards as he charged the weapon. Just as he did this, the monster howled and reared back to strike.

Just as its bladed limb began to move downwards again, an arc of blue electricity shot out of Linwood's gun. The electricity shot into the creature's arm and sparks of energy rippled through its body. The aquatic monster screeched as it began to convulse and the men could hear its body constantly slamming against the roof of the elevator.

Lieutenant Johanson took careful aim and despite the monster's rapid movements, he fired a bullet into its dark mouth. Yellow-green blood splattered out of its open mouth and landed on the floor. Immediately, the blood began to burn a hole through the floor and the convict watched with wide eyes. It amazed yet terrified him how these creatures' blood was so acidic that it could burn through solid metal in a matter of seconds.

Adam continued to fire a few more rounds into the convulsing creature's mouth, which caused more blood to ooze and splatter out. A few specks of its blood landed on the former marine's handgun and arm. The blood immediately began to burn away at his flesh and he let out a scream of pain as he dropped his firearm.

Linwood looked down to watch the officer fall to the ground and the former marine rapidly waved his arm in an attempt to get the acid off him without wiping it off by hand. Meanwhile, the heavily bleeding creature began to recover from the electric shock. Its movements were rather sluggish however due to the bullet wounds in its mouth. Acidic blood continued to drip from its open maw and into the room.

"Just fucking die!" Linwood roared and aimed up at the creature again.

Now aware of the danger, the aquatic Xenomorph moved away from the opening in the ceiling just as the convict opened fire. A large, blue bolt of electricity shot out into the air, but the creature was nowhere in sight. Sizzling was heard and a few drips of acid burned through the ceiling, nearly landing on Linwood. He jumped back with surprise and he kept his eyes up, waiting for the monster to pop its head out into the open again.

A small ding rang out and the elevator door opened. Still staring at the ceiling, the convict backed out of the elevator. He was a bit confused when he didn't hear Adam's footsteps alongside him. He took a chance and looked back into the elevator to see the officer on the floor, limp. A part of him told him to leave the guy behind, but something didn't sit right with him. The monster was still in there and if that officer wasn't dead, he would be if he left. In his head, he questioned whether if he could bare more deaths on his conscience. He already had so much blood on his hands. But in the end, he had to make a decision.

Linwood pressed his pointer finger down on the electric gun's trigger, which caused the weapon to shake violently as sparks of energy emitted from the end of the barrel. He kept holding the trigger as he pointed the weapon up at the ceiling and he stepped back into the elevator. As soon as he stepped under the rippled hole on the ceiling, the Xenomorph stuck its head through the hole and opened its maw to allow its blood to fall downwards. But as soon as he spotted that black blur, he released the trigger.

The arc of blue electricity shot up into the creature's long head. Due to the weapon being charged for so long, a massive amount of energy entered the monster's body. The aquatic monster screeched as it fell back and violently convulsed to the point it fell off the elevator. It howled in agony as it fell down the dark elevator shaft. But the acid fell past the electricity and onto the gun's barrel. Knowing how acidic the blood was, Linwood quickly dropped the weapon to the floor with a loud thud.

As soon as he dropped the weapon, Linwood grabbed the former marine by the legs and dragged him out of the elevator, careful not to drag the unmoving man through any of the burning metal. As soon as they were both out of the elevator, the convict let go of the officer's legs and the elevator door closed shut.

That familiar pain in Linwood's head began to subside at that moment and he panted heavily as he dropped to his knees. Salty sweat slid down his face as his chest rapidly rose and fell. After all that, he kept thinking about what just transpired over and over again in his head. He just risked his life for a man who pointed a gun at his head. He mentally scolded himself for doing something so stupid; he didn't even know if this guy was alive or not. And he lost his only means of defense in the process.

The convict slowly shook his head and he crawled over to Lieutenant Johanson before he placed two fingers against the side of the officer's neck. He could in fact feel a pulse, which meant that Adam was alive, just unconscious. He let out a soft sigh and rose up to his two feet. He stared down at the former marine for a moment, contemplating what he should do next.

"I know you can't hear me right now, but don't die. Don't come after me… but don't die after what I did to save you." Linwood stated with a stern tone.

The bald man felt a bit ridiculous saying that, but he didn't much care. With that said; he turned away from the lieutenant and began to walk to the opposite side of the large room he found himself in. It wasn't clear where he was exactly, but he knew he was at the highest floor below sea level.

Linwood approached an open doorway on the opposite side of the room and walked through it without a second thought. The scenery here was at least somewhat different, he could say that much. The floors were covered by aqua colored tiles and the room was massive, bigger than any he's been in before. Not only that, but the room was filled to the brim with storage containers. He didn't have to think hard to tell what this particular place was used for.

The convict looked around while he walked. He was on full alert. With no weapon, he couldn't defend himself from those monsters and with all the storage containers; there were a lot of places one of them could hide. Thankfully, he felt no pain in his head, but that only gave him minimal comfort. He made his way down a small opening between two massive metal containers and squeezed through rows of boxes. It was almost like a maze.

The room was so quiet. More than once, Linwood found himself jumping at shadows. This colony was making him so jumpy and he wiped some sweat from his brow as he walked. It didn't take very long for him to get completely lost. He wandered around the room for several minutes without a clue as to where he was going.

The convict stumbled into a semi open space away from some large containers. He let out a quiet groan of annoyance. It was absurd how untidy the workers kept this room. How anyone could navigate this place was beyond him. He walked past a particularly large container when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in the back of his head.

Linwood dropped to the floor like a rock and laid there, completely unconscious. Out from behind the storage container, Aaron Makov stepped out of the darkness, holding a lead pipe. The Russian man casually dropped the pipe and it loudly clanged against the tiled floor. He watched with slight fascination as the back of the bald man's head began to swell where he struck. A wolfish grin came to Aaron's face as he combed his fingers through his black hair.

"Sozhaleyu." Makov apologized in Russian, a language he so seldom got to speak freely.

The Russian man took great care to gently role Linwood onto his back before he picked up his fellow convict and rested the unconscious man over his shoulder. With Linwood over his shoulder, Aaron calmly began to walk in a seemingly random direction. He softly hummed a song as he maneuvered through the room and came to a closed door, which let out a beep and opened as soon as he was close enough.

Now with everything he needed from this colony, Aaron was content with leaving. All he needed was a ship and he knew exactly where to get one. He smiled as he walked through the door, which slid shut behind him.


	21. Abandoning the Hearth

**Kwai kwai everyone! Once more, I have to apologize for the lack of updates. The last few months haven't left me much time to write, but I am determined to finish this story. I would like to thank you all for your patience and support. Remember to leave a review or send me a PM!**

Chapter 21: Abandoning the Hearth

On the surface of Aipaloovik VII, the storm above the colony had calmed down a considerable amount. It was still raining, but the winds weren't nearly as severe as earlier that day. The skies were dark with dreary clouds. But even with the sky blanketed by clouds, the big, bright star the planet orbited around still partially shined through the storm clouds. The light blue sun was partially over the watery horizon, which dictated that the sun was setting.

The only manmade structure that stuck out from the ocean was the very top of Tower C. The metal tower stood high above sea level in an octagonal shape. At the top of the tower, a metal platform began to rise up from the inner recesses of the building. The platform stopped once it reached the top of the tower and a medium sized shuttle could be seen in the center of the massive lift. Written in yellow letters, USCSS Nina, displayed itself on the right side of the shuttle.

The lights in the front and back of the shuttle suddenly lit up and the vehicle gradually rose in the air. Rain water slid down the sides of the ship's hull while it rose up and slightly tilted upwards. The vehicle began moving forward and the faster it went, the more upwards it tilted. Now that the wind was nowhere near as violent as it was before, the shuttle didn't experience nearly as much turbulence as it would have less than an hour ago. Of course, the shuttle still wobbled and shook from the rain, but it stayed on course.

The USCSS Nina soon rose above the dark clouds. Gradually, the blue atmosphere was replaced by the dark nothingness of outer space. The bright blue giant star shined brightly while the shuttle continued forward in the opposite direction. But as the USCSS Nina escaped, a massive conestoga class carrier ship began to approach the planet.

* * *

Within Tower C, Charles was standing in a security monitoring room. The room was devoid of life, save for himself and Corporal Cobalt, who was lying down on three chairs that were pushed close together to form a makeshift bed. She was lying unconscious while the synthetic's eyeless gaze stared at the monitors.

The synthetic paid close attention to each individual screen. He did not want any of the Xenomorphs to get anywhere close to them without him knowing about it. Even with his connection to their linked pheromones, he did not want to take any chances of being snuck up on. The human's safety mattered a lot more to him than his own.

On one of the many monitors, Charles could see the USCSS Nina taking off. On one hand, he was glad that one or more people escaped from this place, but he knew the Company probably wouldn't feel the same. It often displeased him how little humans seemed to care about their own species.

On a computer screen a little ways away from the security monitors, a black screen popped up. The synthetic's long head slowly turned to look at the computer. That could only be an incoming transmission. He watched as white text began to appear, each letter beeping softly as they showed up.

"THIS IS THE USS ONTAKI. ARE THERE ANY SURVIVORS? YOU HAVE FIVE MINUTES TO REPLY." the message read.

This meant that the ship from the Company had finally arrived. The sharp claws at the ends of Charles' feet clicked against the tiled floor as he approached the computer. He had to take great care as to not damage the keyboard with his claws, but he began to type a response.

"YES. SYNTHETIC XL4 REPORTING. THERE ARE TWO CONFIRMED SURVIVORS. ONE POSSESSES A XENOMORPH PARASITE IN HER CHEST. DANGER LEVEL: EXTREME. WARNING: WEATHER MAY HINDER FLIGHT. REQUESTING RESCUE." he wrote before pressing the enter key.

Charles didn't have to wait long before a response came.

"REPORT ABOVE SEA LEVEL IMMEDIATELY."

The synthetic's upper lip quivered, revealing his silver teeth for only a moment. He didn't bother to respond to the message and he turned around when he heard a soft groaning. He watched as Corporal Cobalt rested a hand on her forehead. Her brown eyes gradually opened, but they soon widened upon seeing him.

"Relax, corporal. It's me, Charles. Please relax." the synthetic informed her with a smooth voice and he crouched down by her side in a non-threatening manner.

"Charles? What… what happened?" the officer asked with a hoarse voice; her throat felt so dry.

"One of the parasites implanted an egg in your chest. A rescue ship will be here soon to pick us up." Charles informed her and he rested his six fingered hand on her back when she began to sit up.

Nattily looked at the synthetic with horror and she placed her hand over her heart. She broke into a cold sweat as she processed this information. She was trying to remember what happened before she blacked out, but all she could remember was being attacked by that large creature, the Carrier. Flashes of the charging monster and gunfire made her tremble lightly, but there was something she feared more than what was inside of her.

"Where is Joe and Johanson?" the corporal questioned with heavy breaths.

"I do not know. But we must reach the upper platform as soon as possible. Lieutenant Johanson requested that I bring you to safety, last I saw him. The Company can help you." he spoke urgently, yet he kept his voice leveled.

It was imperative that they reach the very top of the tower to meet up with their rescuers. From both his programming and his own protective instincts towards humans, he refused to sit there and let the parasite kill this woman. Despite how shaken she was, Charles helped her stand up. He had her rest a hand over his shoulder and the two of them slowly walked towards the door.

"H-how long do I have?" the corporal stuttered with an audible gulp and the door in front of them opened.

"I do not know. Just stay as calm as possible. Increased stress might accelerate the birthing process." the synthetic replied without looking at her.

It was difficult to bring himself to look at the corporal. Her skin was a bit more pale than usual and her dirty blonde hair was a mess, despite being partially tied in a ponytail. Not only that, but her neck was slightly bruised from where the parasite's tail had wrapped around her. She was clearly scared, but she took slow, deep breaths.

The two of them exited the monitor room and into a hall. A dead body with a hole clean through the skull was sitting on the floor with its back against the wall. There was also a trail of blood that led to one of the vents. But whatever thing that did this was long gone, Charles made sure of that. They both stared straight ahead, refusing to acknowledge the corpse and blood.

His clawed feet gently clicked against the tiled floors while the human's boots thumped with every step. In all honesty, Nattily knew that she was strong enough to support herself, but this machine kept her close. She didn't resist though, for she knew that he was just being protective. If anything, she appreciated it.

Corporal Cobalt's slow breaths echoed through the empty hall as they walked. To their left, there was a metal door with a sign above it that red "EMERGENCY EXIT" in bright, neon red letters. The synthetic led her to the door and she pressed the red button on the panel connected to the wall. The door hummed softly as it opened and they found themselves in a medium sized room with a spiral staircase leading upwards.

"Just take slow steps. I am here for you." he informed her.

Nattily didn't reply. She wanted to get out of this place as soon as possible. It was difficult staying calm knowing there was a monster in her chest that could kill her at any moment. She's never seen one of these things birth itself before and she didn't want know how it happened. All she knew was that the victim never survived. Her breathing quickened just a little while they made their way up the stairs. Her boots clanged against the metal as they climbed. The stairs simply seemed to go on and on with no end. They climbed nearly eight stories by the time they reached a grated platform with a single door straight ahead.

"Before we go out there, I need you to close your eyes and keep your head down. No matter what, don't look up." the synthetic instructed her with complete seriousness.

The corporal understood his warning. This planet's sun was said to be brighter than bright on the surface. She clenched her brown eyes shut and she felt him guide her forward. But as soon as they started walking again, she felt a sharp pain in her chest. She clenched her teeth, but she didn't speak a word. As soon as the metal door hummed open, a light breeze pushed past them and the salty smell of the sea rushed into her nostrils.

The human and the synthetic made their way outside and onto the massive, octagonal shaped platform. This platform was the highest point on the whole colony. It stood several stories above sea level and there were short towers with bright red lights on each corner of the platform. Each small tower was connected via steel guardrails. It was gently raining still and numerous raindrops pelted their heads and shoulders. Thankfully, the storm was mostly past them. Even the wind was no more than a soft breeze that caused the corporal's hair to dance in the air. Despite the clouds still being relatively thick and dark, the planet's blue sun shined brightly through the clouds, as if they weren't there at all. But the human took Charles' advice; her eyes stayed shut and her face pointed downward.

Corporal Cobalt obviously couldn't see it, but a transport shuttle broke through the clouds in the distance. Since his internal eyes could take the brightness, Charles watched as the ship approached the tower they were on. The ship was in the shape of a large triangle with heavily tinted windows in the front. The hull was a bleak gray color and he easily spotted the Company's logo on the side of the vehicle. "Wayland-Yutani: Building Better Worlds."

The transport shuttle slowed to a stop above the platform they were on and landing gears slowly lowered themselves from thin rectangular slits on the bottom of the craft. The synthetic watched the shuttle land in front of them with the pointed front facing the two of them. A ramp gradually lowered onto the platform they stood on and he could see the white interior of the vehicle.

Armored men wielding painted black pulse rifles suddenly stormed out of the shuttle. These people wore padded white uniforms with steel helmets fully covering their heads. Tinted black goggles covered their eyes and it was impossible to see their facial features due to the metal covering their faces. Not a single bit of skin was exposed on these soldiers. These armed men took positions all around the platform and aimed their black rifles this way and that, presumably securing the location. Charles knew what these people were. They were the Company's private commandos. They must've been familiar with his model, because none of them pointed their weapons at him.

One of the commandos announced that the platform was free of hostiles, but every one of them still looked as tense as ever. Four more people exited the shuttle. Two of them were also commandos and they were carrying a medical stretcher. The third was a man wearing a white hazmat suit with the viewing glass tinted black. He was holding a glass cylinder with metal edges. The fourth was a woman wearing a gray business suit and holding a black umbrella.

This woman had pale white skin and she adjusted her red necktie with her freehand. Under her umbrella, it could be seen that she had jet black hair that was tied in a ponytail. She had sharp facial features with pronounced cheek bones. Her eyes were shielded by a pair of dark sunglasses, so it was impossible to see her eye color. She was young though, maybe in her early twenties.

"Is this the infected?" the woman questioned calmly with a small hand gesture towards the corporal.

"Yes, she-"

"Oh god!" Nattily cried out, interrupting Charles' response.

Everyone turned their attention towards the scream. Corporal Cobalt fell to her knees as she clenched her hands over her chest. She was violently shaking and despite the synthetic's warning, her brown eyes opened. The horrible pain in her chest was only matched by how bright everything got. All she could see was white that burned her eyes.

Two of the commandos rushed towards the convulsing woman and they quickly had her lay down on her back. Her limbs twitched while both her eyes and mouth were wide open with pain. Her brown eyes uselessly stared straight up, being unable to see. Everyone seemed to be shouting orders, but the man in the hazmat suit rushed forward as the two commandos pinned the woman down. He quickly opened the glass cylinder he was carrying and placed the open end against her chest.

Sickening cracks were heard and her combat vest began to shift. Blood shot out of her chest and coated the sides of the container as her chest seemed to explode. The corporal violently trembled while blood leaked out of the corners of her mouth. It was difficult to see through the blood, but a bloodied monstrosity with teeth as sharp as needles began to slither out of the bloodied opening in her chest. It had two stubby arms tucked against its sides and its eyeless head seemed to have a small crest, almost like a crown.

Once the newly born Xenomorph was fully out of Corporal Cobalt's chest, the man in the hazmat quickly turned the cylinder upside down and closed it shut. The snake-like creature let out a fierce hissing sound and it banged its head against the glass walls of the container in a vain attempt to escape.

All Charles could do was watch as the man turned around and brought the new specimen to the ship. Two of the commandos began to place the now dead corporal onto the stretcher before they followed the man in the hazmat suit.

While all of this happened, the emergency exit door slid open, which caught a few of the commandos' attention. They aimed their rifles at the man who stepped into the open.

"Identify yourself!" one of the armed commandos ordered loudly.

"Officer Adam Johanson." the shirtless man answered gruffly.

The lieutenant stood with his back slumped slightly. He was completely covered in sweat and bruises. With one arm in a makeshift sling and the other visibly burned, neither limb was usable at the moment. His burned arm simply hung limp just like his dislocated arm had been earlier that day. His eyes were also clenched shut and his head down. He heard the screams though and recognized them as Corporal Cobalt's. He kept a straight face as he walked forward.

"She's dead, isn't she?" he said more as a statement than a question.

"I'm sorry, lieutenant. She is no longer with us." Charles spoke with sincere regret.

Adam let out a shaky sigh and cursed under his breath. Even with his military training, he couldn't protect anyone, it seemed. If he could feel his hands, he would've balled them into fists out of grief and anger.

"I expect a full report from both of you once we get off world." the woman in the suit spoke calmly, not even phased by what just happened.

"And just who the fuck are you?" the lieutenant demanded as he sharply turned his head towards her, but he kept his eyes closed.

"My name is Asako Yutani. And if you speak to me that way again, I will personally make sure you never find work again." the woman quickly answered with a frown.

Lieutenant Johanson scoffed at this. There was no doubt she had a lot of power within the Company, considering her name, but nothing mattered to him anymore. He didn't care about her, the Company, or even himself. He simply felt like a hollow shell.

"I don't care. As of right now, I'm officially retired." he told her with clenched teeth.

"Come, lieutenant. Let's go." Charles spoke softly and he rested his six fingered hand on the former marine's upper back.

Adam sighed and took small steps while the synthetic guided him into the shuttle and out of the rain. Still holding the umbrella, Asako Yutani looked out at the surrounding ocean. Her glasses protected her from the sun's brightness. It was a shame that such a pretty looking planet was now contaminated by this infestation, but it didn't matter much in the end. It just meant she'd have to sign some paperwork to ensure that this system was a restricted zone. She'd send synthetics to retrieve whatever data that could be salvaged once she was back on the USS Ontaki.

"We're done here." she informed the commandos.

"Yes, Miss Yutani." one of the commandos nodded.

With that, they all made their way up the ramp, which soon closed shut when they were all on board. Slowly, the triangular shuttle rose off the platform and began to fly upwards. As the shuttle flew out of orbit, it continued to gently rain over the ocean, leaving behind small ripples within the water.


	22. Blackness of the Cosmos

**Kwai kwai nidobak! We have finally reached the end of this story. I for one am glad this story is coming to a close. I enjoyed writing it, but this seems to be a good ending point. I would like to apologize for taking so long to write this final chapter, but life has been keeping me very busy as of late. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the story. Remember to leave a review or send me a PM!**

Chapter 22: Blackness of the Cosmos

The universe is a vast expanse of open space. In all directions, one could only see darkness with various bright dots in the distance, which indicated stars, separate galaxies, and other anomalies. The USCSS Nina, a triangular shaped transport shuttle, seemed to slowly glide through the expanse of space and away from the planet known as Aipaloovik VII. Its slowness was merely an optical illusion however, for it was really moving three hundred forty three meters a second.

Linwood Stevenson was in the flight deck of the shuttle. The room, like the ship's shape, was triangular with a pointed windshield that exposed the vastness of space. Terminals and other controls lined the walls with numerous buttons that glowed various different bright colors. The convict was sitting motionless on the captain's chair with his head leaned back against the seat's padded headrest. The only thing that moved was his rising and falling chest. Between his head and the chair's padding, an ice pack was fitted in place to help with the swelling bump on the back of his head.

A soft groan escaped the convict's lips. His brown eyes slowly blinked open to see Aaron with his back to him. The bald man's head hurt so much. It was pounding and he reached his hand up to feel the cold ice pace against the back of his scalp.

"I'm glad you're awake, Linwood. Try not to move too much." Aaron spoke calmly as he typed into a terminal.

Linwood silently watched the Russian-American turn around at that moment. He could see the other convict holding a revolver, which was lazily being pointed down towards the floor. It was hard to think straight with his head pounding so badly, but he needed to know where he was and what was going on.

"We're on the same vessel that brought us to Aipaloovik in the first place. I… barrowed the ship and brought you with me." the Russian man stated, already knowing what the bald man was going to ask. "I do apologize for knocking you unconscious, but I am not much of a people person. I'd rather bring you with me without trying to convince you. Time was of the essence, you see." he casually explained.

"You didn't have to hit me in the fucking head." Linwood sharply replied with a hard glare, followed by a groan of pain.

"Maybe not, but there's no use dwelling on fruitless animosities. We're both alive. We're heading towards Earth. Honestly, this should be a time of celebration." Aaron smiled cheerfully.

The bald man continued to glare at Aaron, but he sighed and rubbed his temples. His head was pounding. Wait, it was pounding! His eyes shot wide open and he sat up, which caused the ice pack to slide down to his lower back, but it was ignored. He wasn't sure if the strike to his head was the cause of his headache, or if it was his queer new senses at work.

"I think one of those things is on board." he stated quickly despite the pain in his head.

"I highly doubt that, but I will scan the ship, if you'd like." the Russian-American calmly replied.

Still holding his revolver, Aaron made his way to one of the many terminals and typed in a command. The screen flashed the word "SCANNING…" and the two men waited for the results. Aaron was very calm, but Linwood was taking heavy breaths as his hands tightly gripped his chair's armrests.

"Non-human life form detected in the engine room!" Brother's voice suddenly boomed from the loudspeakers.

"That's absurd. There was nothing in the ship when I carried you in here." Aaron frowned and he stepped away from the monitor.

"Maybe it waited for you to stop looking around before it boarded." Linwood suggested and he very slowly stood up on his wobbling feet.

Aaron sharply turned to look at the other convict and he raised his revolver, aiming at Linwood's chest. The bald man stopped in his tracks and stared at the gun's barrel with wide eyes. He stayed completely still as a shaky breath escaped him.

"Sit back down, Linwood. You're not going anywhere." the Russian-American stated sternly and cocked the hammer of his stolen firearm.

Linwood slowly nodded and sat back down on the captain's chair. He kept his hands planted on the armrests so they were clearly visible. Aaron kept his revolver trained on Linwood as he began to walk towards the exit. The door opened automatically when he was close enough and he stood in the doorway.

"What are you gonna do?" the bald man shakily asked, only moving his head so he could still see the other convict.

"Don't worry about a thing, my friend. Just sit here and wait for me. I'm going to bring this thing to the brig to lock it away. I highly doubt a puny revolver will kill it." Aaron slowly smiled and stepped out of the room.

The door hummed shut and a red light began to glow in the center of the metal door. The red light indicated that it was locked. As soon as the door closed, Linwood jumped to his feet and rushed to the exit. He almost tripped as his head felt like it spun, but he placed a hand against the wall for balance. When he approached the door, he pressed both palms against its metal surface and uselessly pushed against its frame.

"Open the damn door! You can't just lock these things away! Hey!" he yelled.

His protests were ignored and he slammed his hands against the door. But no matter what he did, the door stayed locked, trapping him in the flight deck. He loudly cursed and stepped away from the door finally. Linwood slowly made his way back to the terminals by the windshield and he looked at some of the monitors. Many of them were either blank or showed data, but one far to the left seemed to be a security camera.

"Um, you work on audio commands, right? Show me what's happening in the engine room." Linwood awkwardly commanded the computer.

"Security cameras in the engine room, activated!" Brother boomed.

The monitor began to show various images of an industrial looking area within the ship. The convict squinted his eyes and leaned forward to watch the video feed, and his eyes widened at what he saw…

* * *

The revolver was useless, and Aaron knew it. He's seen the security footage back on the colony. Security officers would fire their weapons at the creatures, but only military rounds could pierce their exoskeletons. But it made him feel better to carry the firearm all the same. It gave him a small sense of power.

Aaron's boots thumped and squeaked against the tiled floor as he walked. These hallways were a lot brighter than the ones on the colony. Both the floor and the walls were white, and the fluorescent lights shined down on him. It seemed rather drab to him, for he preferred his work environment to be brightly colored. In his eyes, a bit of eye candy never hurt anyone.

The USCSS Nina wasn't a large ship by transport shuttle standards. It was probably meant to carry a crew of half a dozen or so people, with room for two dozen passengers. The Russian-American walked down one of the plain halls until he reached a door with a plaque with "Engine Room" written in black above the door.

"Warning! Non-human presence detected past this point!" Brother boomed through the loudspeakers, which echoed through the empty hall.

There was a short delay before the door slid open with a hum. Showing no fear, Aaron stepped through the open doorway and into the engine room. The floor was made of metal and was grated while the walls were painted a rusty brownish red color. Metal pipes hung from the ceilings and lined the walls. There were numerous terminals and metal crates all around the room, which made the place seem like a maze. There was a lot less lights in this room, so a good portion of the space was in darkness. Or perhaps, the creature was smart enough to destroy some of the lights to make it harder to detect.

Aaron mentally scoffed as he stared up at the few fluorescent lights on the ceiling. He wished he brought a flashlight or something with him. After all, he assumed that these creatures could see in the dark, like many nocturnal animals. It was probably hiding somewhere, like a lion waiting for an unsuspecting gazelle.

The convict held his revolver up as he slowly walked deeper into the room. The door behind him hummed shut. His green eyes slowly moved left and right, searching for any signs of life. He knew this thing was in here, but where?

The silence and anticipation was unnerving even him. Back on the colony, he had control. He knew the creatures' patrol patterns and where they were. Here, he knew neither. He kept close to the wall and he rested a hand on the dusty pipes as he walked. His boots clanged against the grated floor as he walked. He moved into a more shadowed area of the large engine room. His freehand gripped another pipe, this one much smoother than the others.

Aaron stopped in his place and looked around the room. He aimed his revolver this way and that, still waiting for the creature to make its appearance. One of the lights on the other side of the room flickered briefly. If the damned computer didn't inform him of the creature's presence, he'd swear he was the only one there.

Something wet landed on Aaron's shoulder and the nape of his neck. The Russian-American man adopted a quizzical look and he looked over at his shoulder. The strange fluid looked like dark colored mucus that reflected the little light that was in the room. His eyes traveled down his arm and where he was holding the pipe. The pipe was obsidian black with small ridges along its length. The pipe ended with a six fingered hand.

A cold chill raced up Aaron's spine. He slowly moved his head up to see a seemingly grinning face staring down at him. The face was eyeless with silver teeth and a crown-like crest atop its head. It was almost impossible to see in the darkness, but there were two burn marks on its black exoskeleton. One on its ribbed chest and the other branded its shoulder.

The scarred praetorian let out a low hiss as its mouth began to open, revealing the second set of jaws in its mouth. Aaron quickly released his grip on the monster's wrist and he aimed his revolver upwards. He squeezed the trigger and the hammer slammed down to fire the gun. The bullet loudly shot out and struck the inside of the thing's open maw.

A loud howl echoed through the room as the creature's crested head lurched back. Aaron quickly stepped away from the tall monstrosity as he cocked the hammer so it was ready for another shot. The praetorian let out a growl as it looked towards him again with its mouth open. Its inner jaws were bleeding yellow-green blood from where it was shot.

Aaron quickly turned on his heels and began to run towards the exit, to hopefully lead this thing to the brig. But as he ran, the large Alien lurched back and spat a glob of its blood at the fleeing man. The blood landed right behind the convict's left knee. The acid quickly began to burn through the fabric of his jumpsuit, then his flesh.

The convict gasped in horrible pain and he stumbled onto the floor with a crash. His leg violently trembled as the acid burned away his skin and muscle tendons. Aaron whipped his head back to look at the approaching monster, not with fear, but with anger. He had so much to do in life. He still had his work to do, he needed to kill Doctor O'Connell's family, and now this creature was going to ruin all of that. Even if he couldn't kill this thing, he wanted it to hurt badly for ending his premature existence.

With all of his remaining strength, Aaron raised the revolver and squeezed the trigger. The muzzle flash briefly lit up his face as the bullet struck and ricocheted off of the monster's crest. He quickly pulled down the hammer again and fired another shot. This time, the bullet bounced off its chin. The creature was right on top of him at this point and acid dripped onto his chest. He hissed from the pure agony, but he managed to fire the gun one last time before the recoil forced his shaking hand to drop the gun. This time, the bullet hit the pair of jaws within the creature's mouth again. The praetorian howled and took a few steps back as the whole top half of its inner jaws were blown off. It raised its six fingered hands to its face as it bled profusely from the mouth.

Despite the horrible pain in his chest and leg, Aaron flashed a toothy grin at the monster. Sure, it would kill him, but it would never be able to eat properly after that. He stared at the waling creature with a wolfish grin. The monster looked down at him with yellow-green blood staining its silver teeth. With a howl of rage and pain, the praetorian raised its tail like a scorpion stinger and stabbed downwards. Its tailblade sharply sunk through the human's forehead. The sickening sound of cracking bone and pierced metal sounded off as the black tailblade stabbed through his head and through the floor under him. But despite the stab wound in his head, the dead body continued to grin up at the creature.

The praetorian hissed and yanked its tailblade out of the corpse' head before it looked upwards and roared. The creature suddenly ran towards the exit and slammed its body against the door before it could even open. The metal bent outwards and the creature stabbed its claws clean through the metal. With a furious roar, the monster tore the door open with its brute strength and rushed into the hallway. It could still sense prey in this place.

* * *

Linwood stared at the security monitor with wide eyes. Aaron was dead and he watched the large creature exit the engine room by forceful means. He still had a pounding headache. If he could sense this thing's presence, then he knew it could feel him too. This creature looked different from the others he's seen, but if it was strong enough to bend steel with its bare hands, he didn't want to be anywhere near it.

"Fuck, I don't wanna die…" he whispered shakily as he looked down at his shaking hands.

There was no time to sit around and cower. No doubt, that thing was coming for him. His legs still wobbling, the convict made his way over to the front of the flight deck and approached one of the active terminals. He sat down in the leather seat in front of the computer and quickly read what was on the monitor. The screen showed coordinates, as well as the name of a town in the United States he was unfamiliar with. Clearly, this meant that the ship was heading for Earth, just like Aaron said it was. But he couldn't risk letting this monster loose on Earth; even he knew that. It would kill everyone. He rested his shaking hands on his bald head as he thought over what to do.

"Brother? Does this ship have any escape pods?" he questioned the computer.

"The hypersleep station doubles as an escape pod!" the monotone voice of Brother answered.

"Alright, prepare the escape pod for an emergency exit. And set the ship's trajectory for the nearest sun. As of article 1-509, I declare this ship unsafe for arrival on Earth." Linwood ordered as he slowly began to stand up again.

"Last chance to reverse lethal trajectory! Once confirmed, trajectory cannot be reverted!" the computer announced.

"Confirm command." the convict stated.

"Acknowledged! All inhabitants, evacuate the vessel immediately! This is not a drill!" Brother's monotone voice declared.

At this point, the yellow emergency lights began to flash throughout the transport vessel. All the other lights dimmed and an alarm began to sound off. The loud alarms didn't help with Linwood's headache, but he knew he had to get out of there. He was fairly certain where the hypersleep station was. He recalled that it was an arm's throw away from the main exit, which was most likely in the back of the ship.

Looking to his right, the convict noticed a monitor showing the outline of the ship. He rushed over to the computer and looked over the pixelated map to see that the hypersleep station was near the center of the ship, slightly closer to the back than the pointed front. Close enough to his original prediction.

Just as Linwood began to memorize the map's layout, a loud crash boomed even louder than the alarms. Looking over at the room's exit, he watched as the metal of the door dented inwards. His dark eyes widened and he looked around the room as another crash was heard. Similar to the colony, there were circular openings lining the floor that allowed technicians to enter the air ducts. Without hesitation, he shakily ran towards one of these openings and the metal cover spun open to allow him entry.

The creaking sound of metal being bent rang in his ears, but he didn't dare look back now. He bent down to all fours and rapidly crawled into the pitch black vent. A howl rang out as he crawled deeper into the darkness and he hesitantly glanced back just as a six fingered hand rushed towards him. He let out a startled scream and backed away from the dark hand. The hand just barely missed grabbing his foot and it viciously clawed at the vent's metal walls in an attempt to grab him.

Linwood's head wouldn't stop pounding; it was actually enough to make his head spin. But despite this, he kept crawling away from the howling monstrosity. The monster eventually gave up trying to reach for him and he could hear it storm off out of the room, knocking over something metal in the process. He could only assume that this thing was too big to fit in the vents. It seemed to be a tradeoff. It couldn't fit in the vents, but it was strong enough to tear doors open with its brute strength.

"Fuck…" he whispered under his breath as he made his way down the tunnel-like vent.

He couldn't see anything in front of him due to the darkness. All he could do was rely on touch. He could still hear the ringing of the alarms out there and he heard the muffled warnings of Brother. He didn't even know how long he had before the ship crashed into the sun. Thankfully, that map he looked at earlier also showed the air vents and where they led, so he actually knew where he had to go.

'Straight, right, left, straight, right.' the bald man kept repeating in his head over and over again.

The last thing he wanted was to get lost during this critical time. Occasionally, he heard the monster howl and roar, almost like it was letting him know it knew exactly where he was at all times.

By the time Linwood reached the final right, light shined into the vent due to one of the air duct's openings allowing him to exit. His dark eyes squinted due to the sudden light and he poked his bald head out to see the empty halls outside, as well as the flashing yellow lights. There was no sign of the creature, but he could feel that its presence was near.

There was little time to waste. The lone convict crawled out of the vent and looked to his left to see an open door with a sign labeling it as the hypersleep station. Escape was so close; he got up and ran to the room. His head was still spinning from the bump on the back of his throbbing head and he nearly fell over as he rushed through the doorframe. But as he entered the room, his head started pounding again and he could hear the thumping of heavy footfalls coming from the hallway. It was like the march of death herself was approaching him, yet he refused to look back to face it.

Turning on his heels, the bald man pressed his hand on the emergency lock button on the wall, which caused the door to close. Under the locking button, there was a numbered keypad, which he quickly typed in a set of codes. It was a universal code used on most modern ships. As he typed, the footfalls grew louder and an ear piercing shriek was heard over the alarms. He practically felt the beast staring at him at this point.

Once he pressed the enter key, a second door made of thick metal slid down to seal the room from the rest of the ship. Just as the second door locked, a loud crash was heard and the metal dented very slightly. The convict cursed in surprise as he fell to the ground. He knew the praetorian was out there. His nostrils flared as the smell of burning metal reached his nose and he could see acid from the creature beginning to burn a hole through the reinforced door. it was trying to burn its way through the door, just to get to him.

Stumbling to his feet, Linwood rushed to the locking button and he pulled the keypad under it clean off of the wall, which revealed a small lever. He mentally thanked whatever higher being might be out there that this ship had up to date emergency measures for breaches.

As the acid continued to burn and the monster kept smashing its body against the doors, he pulled the lever. A third door made of fluted metal came down to cover the entire doorframe. This was meant to ensure that the vacuum of space would not be able to get into the room in case of an emergency, but he knew it wouldn't last long so long as that creature kept up its assault.

"Brother! Get me out of here!" he screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Acknowledged. Abandoning ship!" Brother's emotionless voice spoke through the loudspeakers.

Within the walls surrounding the hypersleep station, the latches and locking mechanisms that kept it attached to the ship disconnected. Hidden emergency rocket thrusters powered up and the engines lit up to push the station away from the rest of the ship. Linwood grunted as the whole deck shook violently and he fell to the ground. Various suitcases, cups, and other items fell to the floor as the entire room shook like an earthquake.

With his teeth barred, the convict gripped one of the plastic tables lining the walls and he watched as the USCSS Nina seemed to move further and further away. And the smaller the vessel seemed to get, the more his head began to clear.

"Warning! Sun 57977 is approaching visibility. Please shield your eyes or risk blindness!" Brother's voice boomed as the alarms finally quieted down, but the emergency lights still flashed.

Not having to be told twice, Linwood crouched down under the window and looked towards the ground with his eyes shut tightly. He refused to look, but the great giant star came into view through the window, which shined brightly in a blue aura. And as the giant sun lit up the room, the tiny dot of the USCSS Nina flew right into its bright surface. Anything inside of the ship incinerated mere moments before the ship itself melted down into slag.

The convict stayed crouched the whole time and the sun was finally out of sight from the window. Just as it did, the yellow lights ceased flashing and the ship stopped shaking. The lone man's eyes sluggishly opened and he very slowly stood up on his shaking legs. There was no pain in his head, discluding the slight throbbing from the bump. But the important thing was that he was safe. The horror was finally over.

Linwood gradually stumbled towards a terminal by the window and he looked at the monitor to see that the ship's computer was requesting a destination via text. But where could he go? He was still a known criminal, even if he was pronounced dead. There was no doubt in his mind that the Company would search for him if they even considered the possibility that he was alive. Law enforcement would recognize him on Mars, and he was sure that the Company had eyes on all of its colonies and Earth. He bit his lower lip as he tried to think of anywhere the Company might not look for him. The only place he could think of was a colony on an asteroid his girlfriend used to work at. He only considered this place because it was founded by Seegson, not Weyland-Yutani.

The convict sighed and typed out "4 Vesta" into the terminal as well as the asteroid's coordinates. The monitor automatically typed out "acknowledged" in green letters before it wrote out a recommendation to go into hypersleep for the trip. The less power that had to be used on lights and heat, the better. It was best for the escape pod to only focus on the hypersleep module to keep him alive. The engines already gave the escape pod enough speed to reach the asteroid within the next few months. It didn't need to waste any more fuel.

Linwood was exhausted and even hypersleep sounded good right now. He turned and walked towards one of the many hypersleep capsules in the room before he placed his hand against the clear glass. It was time to get the sleep he so badly craved.


	23. Aipaloovik VII Report

**BEGIN TRANSMISSION**

Progression Report and Future of Company

Author: Asako Yutani (CEO of Yutani branch of Weyland-Yutani)

The research installation on the planet, Aipaloovik VII, is now a Red Zone. The entire Aipaloovik system is now restricted and all humans are prohibited from entering the solar system. Only synthetics may enter the system to retrieve data left behind in the installation. Synthetic XL4 and security officer Adam Johanson have been recovered. There are no known survivors other than the above at this time and a rescue will not be conducted. It is imperative that the public believe that Aipaloovik VII fell to a terrorist attack.

An infant Xenomorph queen has also been taken under custody. Under protocol 469, I hereby declare the Weyland branch of this company unfit and irresponsible for containing the Xenomorphs. I will personally supervise the Xenomorph Research Program. The queen will be taken to an undisclosed location. Any attempts to locate the Xenomorph by the Weyland branch will result in the termination of the individual's contract with the company.

The Yutani branch will also be responsible for locating escaped test subject, Linwood Stevenson. There is reason to believe he has escaped the planet. Location unknown. Do not attempt to discover his location. Any attempt to locate the test subject will result in termination of the offender's contract and life if necessary. I am in full control of these two operations now.

Weyland-Yutani:

Building Better Worlds

 **END TRANSMISSION**


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